Men call you
fair, and you do credit it,
For that yourself you daily such do see;
But the
true fair, that is the gentle
wit
And
virtuous mind, is much more praised of me.
For all the rest, however fair it be,
Shall turn to naught and lose that glorious hue;
But only that is permanent and free
From frail
corruption that doth flesh ensue,
That is true beauty; that doth argue you
To be divine and born of heavenly seed;
Derived from that fair Spirit, from whom all true
And perfect
beauty did at first proceed:
He only fair, and what he fair hath made;
All other fair, like flowers, untimely
fade.
- Edmund Spenser.