"Know thyself. A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever studies himself arrest his own development. A caterpillar who seeks to know himself would never become a butterfly."

Beauty

Create & Download Quote Image

Select Template

Insight & Reflection

This reflection on beauty by Andre Gide resonates across generations. It highlights a fundamental truth about human nature: our continuous search for meaning in beauty is what ultimately defines our character and our path forward.

About Andre Gide

André Paul Guillaume Gide was a French author whose writing spanned a wide variety of styles and topics. He was awarded the 1947 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gide's career ranged from his beginnings in the symbolist movement to criticising imperialism in the interwar period. Author of more than 50 books, he was described in his obituary in The New York Times as "France's greatest contemporary man of letters" and "judged the greatest French writer of this century by the literary cognoscenti."

More quotes by Andre Gide  ’
Editorial Note: This quote is curated and fact-checked by the Quotes Archive Editorial Team. Verified Literature Specialist.

More by Andre Gide

"Through loyalty to the past, our mind refuses to realize that tomorrow's joy is possible only if today's makes way for it; that each wave owes the beauty of its line only to the withdrawal of the preceding one."

Read more  ’

More about Beauty

View all Beauty quotes  ’