Beauty is as beauty does

Posted by Masakim on August 12, 2002

In Reply to: Beauty is as beauty does posted by R. Berg on August 12, 2002

: : What does this mean.
: : That, what beautiful people do is beautiful because they do it?
: : Or, you are beautiful when you do beautiful things?

: More like the second, but even more like "Physical beauty isn't important; good behavior is."

Here are some variants:

He is gentil that dooth fentil deedis. (Chaucer, _The Wife of Bath's Tale_, c1386)

But as the auncient adage is, goodly is he that goodly dooth. (Anthony Munday, _View of Sundry Examples_, c1580)

By my troth, he is a proper man; but he is proper that proper doth. (Thomas Dekker, _The Shoemaker's Holiday_, 1599)

He is handsome that handsome doth. (John Ray, _English Proverbs_, 1670)

Pretty is as pretty does. (T.C. Haliburton, _Wise Saws_, 1854)