Share & Save
Meaning
The quote contrasts wisdom with beauty by treating wisdom as welcoming and communal, while beauty is portrayed as exclusive and less tolerant of competition. It suggests that ideas and learning can coexist with others, but aesthetic appeal may be seen as competing for attention.
When It Was Said
Not documented yet.
Who It Was Said To
Not documented yet.
Historical Context
Not documented yet.
Source
Thomas Jefferson: Diplomatic Correspondence, Paris, 1784-1789 (2016)
Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
The phrase appears in the book "Thomas Jefferson: Diplomatic Correspondence, Paris, 1784-1789 (2016)" by Thomas Jefferson (Google Books snippet); no earlier source was checked.
Did You Know?
Not documented yet.
About Thomas Jefferson
American statesman, writer, and philosopher
Thomas Jefferson was an American statesman, writer, and philosopher, and the third president of the United States, serving from 1801 to 1809. He was one of the Founding Fathers and is closely associated with the political ideals that came to be called Jeffersonian democracy. He was the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, and his political thought shaped early American politics alongside federalism. Jefferson remains a defining figure in American political history, admired for his ideas and also remembered as a lifelong slave owner, a fact that makes his legacy deeply contested.
More from Thomas Jefferson (258 quotes) →Keep reading Thomas Jefferson
- “Experience declares that man is the only animal which devours his own kind; for I can apply no milder term to…”Thomas Jefferson
- “We must make our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude...If we run into such debts,…”Thomas Jefferson
- “For a people who are free, and who mean to remain so, a well-organized and armed militia is their best securi…”Thomas Jefferson
- “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virgi…”Thomas Jefferson
Presence: more sayings
- “Facebook succeeded because it was about real people having a presence on the Internet. There were all these o…”Peter Thiel
- “For me, Robbie Williams was a massive influence when I was growing up. But also Cheryl Cole. Being in her pre…”Louis Tomlinson
- “I don't know if likeable, pleasant characters have enough conflict for me to want to do them. I admire those…”Michael Douglas
Wisdom: more sayings
READ THE SOURCE
Books by Thomas Jefferson
Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth
2007
Notes on the state of Virginia
1996