All that Glitters is not Gold is an old phrase that indicates that everything that looks good may not actually be all that good. By way of this phrase people are being cautioned.
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In life we meet a lot of people and come across numerous things. Many people appear to be extremely warm and friendly initially. However, in most cases as we get to know them we find out that they are not that nice. Their actual personality is hidden behind the fake mask they wear to build relationships for their personal gain.
Similarly, we see several attractive things in the market. We feel the urge to purchase them and bring them home as they seem irresistible. However, when we begin to use them, we often realise that it only looks good at the surface level and is not very useful or is low quality. The famous saying, ‘all that glitters is not gold’ implies just the same.
As per this saying, we must not trust anyone easily. We must take our time to learn about a person before we establish a deep bond with them. Likewise, we must not purchase anything big only because it looks good. We must assess it, check its quality and utility and only then we must go for it. This also holds true for job and business opportunities and almost everything in life. Many things appear to be good from a distance but they are not actually good for us.
Introduction
The phrase, ‘all that glitters is not gold’ is old but it is relevant even in the current times. It suggests that we must be very cautious about everything in life as we may be deceived by pretty faces and attractive packages that may only look good but in reality are fake and deceitful.
The Origin of the Phrase
The saying ‘all that glitters is not gold’ has evolved from the old phrase ‘all that glisters is not gold’ which was coined by the famous English author, William Shakespeare. It found mention in his play, The Merchant of Venice published back in 1596. ‘Glister’ was eventually replaced by ‘glitter’ as the phrase gained popularity.
John Dryden used the phrase, ‘all that glitters is not gold’ in his poem, The Hind and the Panther in the year 1687. “All, as they say, that glitters, is not gold”, he wrote. The phrase is used universally to emphasize the fact that everything that seems beautiful or good may not actually be nice.
All that Glitters is Not Gold – A Warning
The phrase ‘all that glitters is not gold’ is a sort of warning. It warns people not to trust anything just by its external appearance. This has been done with the example of gold. It implies that everything that appears appealing to the eye may not be all that great. We must stay cautious at all times. We must scrutinize people, situations, things and opportunities and try to understand them well before we accept them. If we fail to do so, we may be fooled and deceived. The phrase has been passed on from generation to generation and is commonly used to emphasize the mentioned point.
Conclusion
Several phrases are coined by various poets and authors from time to time, however only few remain popular even after centuries of their origin. ‘All that glitters is not gold’ is one such phrase.
Introduction
The saying ‘all that glitters is not gold’ means that everything that has a shiny and attractive exterior may not be good in the inside too. It says that the appearance of something cannot determine its real character. It may be glittery as gold but it may not necessarily be as precious.
All that Glitters is not Gold – A Lesson for Life
My grandfather often uses the phrase, ‘all that glitters is not gold’. He uses it to warn us against several things. As a little kid, I was often attracted towards eye-catching things. I couldn’t think and analyze whether those things were actually useful for me or not. I also did not have a sense of whether they were right for me or not. Besides, I never really understood whether they were worth the amount being paid.
I wanted to purchase every toy that appealed to my eye without caring about whether it was useful for my age or not. However, I was often disappointed later as most of these toys didn’t turn out the way I expected them too. These were mostly wrapped in beautiful packing but as I opened them, there was hardly much material to play with. Often times, they were not even of my interest.
Seeing me disappointed with my newly bought toy, my grandfather once sat with me and explained a useful concept at length mentioning the phrase ‘all that glitters is not gold’. He told me that market is flooded with numerous things and most of these are covered with fancy exteriors in order to lure the customers and increase sale. We cannot bring home everything that appeals to us as not everything is useful to us and not everything is worth purchasing. We need to check its utility and also assess whether we really need it or not before opting for it instead to just purchasing it for its face value.
He also explained that this holds good even for people and relationships. In life, we may meet many people. It is natural for us to get attracted to those who are beautiful and dress up nicely however we need to understand that these people may not necessarily be good at heart. So, before making friends and other relationships, we must observe the person properly to avoid getting hurt later.
Conclusion
The phrase, ‘all that glitters is not gold’ is a warning and a lesson that everyone should learn. A person who understands it is likely to take wiser decisions in life.
Introduction
‘All that glitters is not gold’ literally means that everything which is sparkling and shiny isn’t gold. This applies to almost everything. We come across numerous attractive things in life however not all of them are as pure as gold. Some of them only appear good but are evil or fake in reality. The phrase is commonly used across the globe since centuries.
Objection on Replacing ‘Glisters’ with ‘Glitters’
The saying ‘all that glitters is not gold’ that has become so popular has been accredited to the 16th century English poet and playwright, William Shakespeare. However, what he had originally written was ‘all that glisters is not gold’. ‘Glisters’ was eventually replaced by ‘glitters’. Though the phrase has grown extremely popular and is used worldwide the replacement of ‘glisters’ with ‘glitters’ has offended many literature lovers even though both the terms have the same meaning. They see it as a misquotation and insist that the phrase originally written by Shakespeare is actually the correct version.
‘All that Glitters is not Gold’ Holds True for People
The phrase, ‘all that glitters is not gold’ especially holds true for people in the current times. People these days have grown extremely cautious about their external appearances. They want to wear good clothes, dine in fancy restaurants and make rich friends. The growing craze of posting pictures on the social media platforms is the best example of how people want to look good and seek attention from those around them. The pictures posted on the social media are often deceptive.
These are an echo of the expression ‘all that glitters is not gold’. Many people admit to have dysfunctional families however their social media posts show that the picture is all rosy. Similarly, a simple picture is made to look exceedingly good by using filters and all sorts of applications. This is a perfect example of the phrase, ‘all that glitters is not gold’. Research shows that most people who appear to be beautiful and joyful on their social media pages are in reality just faking it all.
Besides, most people these days have grown quite greedy and self-centred. They often befriend others to fulfil their selfish motives. Many people bond with rich and influential people just so that they can brag about their friendship. Many people also fake being nice and friendly just to establish business links or grab a job opportunity.
Once their job is done, they change colour like a chameleon. The phrase can aptly be used to warn us against such people. We must be very cautious while allowing people in our lives as often the most charming and friendly people turn out to be the most mean and egocentric people. We must thus assess people properly before establishing deep connection with them else we may end up in trouble.
Conclusion
Many similar phrases have been coined from time to time but none has gained as much popularity as ‘all that glitters is not gold’. It is commonly used to warn people of the misleading exteriors of things.
Introduction
‘All that glitters is not gold’ is an expression that emphasizes the fact that everything that appears to be beautiful and attractive may not be so. Many things that have a fancy exterior and shine like gold may not be as valuable. This holds true for people too. Many people appear to be beautiful and friendly but in reality they may not be so.
Fable Related to the Phrase
There are many moral stories and fables that echo similar thoughts as the saying, ‘all that glitters is not gold’. One such popular fable is that of two friends, Anil and Sunil.
The two friends lived in a village. It was for the first time that they were travelling to the city. They were all quite excited about their trip. They had planned to visit many places within the city and do a lot of shopping. Anil especially wanted to purchase a watch. He had been saving for it since a long time. He was discussing about his plan of purchasing a watch from the city with his friend just when the passenger sitting next to them overheard their conversation.
He took out two sparkling watches from his bag and showed it to the two friends. Anil was enticed by the beauty of those watches. He decided to purchase one of them at once. However, Sunil was a bit sceptic about his decision. He could not trust the man selling the watches as he said that the glistening strap of those watches was made of gold. He charged heavily for the watches.
Sunil warned Anil not to purchase the watch from the man as he suspected he was lying. However, Anil was so attracted to the beauty of the watch that he did not listen to Sunil. He happily handed a large sum of money to the stranger in exchange for a watch.
Few days later, the watch stopped working. Anil took it to the nearby shop to get it repaired. It was then that he learned that his watch was made of an ordinary material that only sparkled like gold but was not precious at all. He realized that all his money had gone down the drain and felt extremely disappointed. He regretted taking hasty decision even after being warned by Sunil.
Since then, Anil took all the decisions very cautiously after assessing all the pros and cons. This is how each one of us should act in life as ‘all that glitters is not gold’.
Phrases Similar to ‘All that Glitters is not Gold’
The phrase, ‘all that glitters is not gold’ is an improvised version of the original saying, ‘all that glisters is not gold’ which appeared in Shakespeare’s popular play, The Merchant of Venice in the year 1596. Many similar phrases have been coined by various writers from time to time. For instance, Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem, The House of Fame’ included, ‘Hit is not al gold, that glareth’. The poem was published in the year 1380. Alian de Lille, the 12th century French theologian wrote, ‘Do not hold everything gold that shines like gold’. The Latin version of the phrase is ‘Non omne quod nitet aurum est’
Other similar phrases include, ‘appearances are deceptive’, ‘never judge by appearances’ and ‘never judge a book by its cover’. These are all used commonly and convey the same meaning however none is as popular as Shakespeare’s ‘all that glitters is not gold’.
Conclusion
‘All that glitters is not gold’ is a warning for each one of us especially for those who take hasty decisions just by looking at a thing, situation or person at the surface level. It is a warning for those who just look at the external beauty of things rather than analyzing their actual worth. This is because everything that is appealing to the eye may not be actually good. Just as there are many things that sparkle and shine but not all of them are as precious as gold.
Introduction
“All that Glitters is not Gold” is a well known proverb, meaning that everything that shines or has a pleasing appearance, isn’t always good. It stresses on the fact that appearance could be deceiving and we must refrain from trusting completely on someone or something, just because that person or thing looked promising or beautiful from a distance.
The phrase warns us and also suggests to not blindly falling for anything or for any person, based solely on their shiny appearances and must do other verifications before trusting them.
Origin of “All That Glitters is not Gold”
Origin of the phrase “All That Glitters is not Gold” dates back to the 12th century or even before. During the 12th century the proverb was popularly used in other world languages as well. Some experts are of the opinion that the phrase originated in Greece, during the time of a Greek storyteller, Aesop (620 BCE – 524 BCE).
However, the English version of the phrase, as we know today, became popular only after William Shakespeare (1564-1616) mentioned it in his play named “The Merchant of Venice”.
Meaning of the Phrase
The phrase “All that Glitters is not Gold” means that everything that shines bright or looks beautiful in appearance isn’t necessarily good from inside also. The phrase is uniformly applicable on all three – person, place or a thing.
The phrase warns us to exercise caution before trusting someone or something, based completely on shiny or beautiful appearance. For example, a person looking handsome and charming from outside might have a dark heart or a negative personality.
Similarly, if a place or house looks enticing from outside, it could be dangerous or unhealthy to enter. That doesn’t mean that you start suspecting the places you are familiar with, rather the phrase advices you to take precautions before moving into a new alluring place.
Real Life Examples of “All That Glitters is not Gold”
There could be many real life situations where the phrase appropriately fits in and also there are many real life examples providing credence to the phrase “All That Glitters is not Gold”. Some of the most common real life examples are explained below.
There had been many attractive and good looking serial killers in history; those have lured their victims by their charm and beauty. But, the poor victims were so much impressed by the killers’ outer appearance that they failed to see the devil within them. Some of the most famous, charming yet brutal serial killers are Ted Bundy, Andrew Cananan etc. Hence, the phrase warns us against dropping our guards against someone, purely on our perception based on that person’s looks.
The beauty of the phrase “All That Glitters is Not Gold” is that it could be associated with many of our everyday activities like food habit, shopping, socializing etc.
How tempting does the pastry displayed in a bakery’s glass shelve looks to you? Definitely it will be the most desirous consumable item and any vegetable in the world couldn’t replace it. But, is it as healthy as vegetables? No! And it doesn’t take a super brain to come to that conclusion. Junk food looks and smells more tempting than nutritional food, but is not good for our health.
You must have come across many commercials on television; trying to lure you into buying products those look beautiful and useful on TV, but are not so, in reality. The charming sales person could be telling nothing more than lies and the product could be a real waste of money and time.
Have you ever come across a sober looking man or woman, asking for money at bus stands or other public places, making excuses like losing money or straying away from family or friends? Most of the times, such people are alcoholics and drug addicts, trying to lure other travelers in paying them. However, it doesn’t mean that you don’t help someone genuinely in need, but to take precaution and not get fooled.
Likewise, we can make use of the phrase “All That Glitters is Not Gold” while choosing a new friend, buying new clothes or ornaments, believing in anyone’s promises or seizing a career opportunity.
Inference
The inference of the phrase “All that Glitters is not Gold” is that a person should be judged based on his inner purity and quality, rather than his looks, however charming they may be. It would be a mistake to judge a person based only on his good looks and neglecting his inner traits. The same principle also applies to everything that we come across in our everyday life.
Conclusion
The phrase “All That Glitters is not Gold”, warn us from making wrong judgment based on looks of something, and advices us to carefully analyze the situation, thing or person in order to not get deceived.