Quote #39155
As a white candle
In a holy place,
So is the beauty
Of an aged face.
Joseph Campbell
About This Quote
This quote needs no introduction—at least for now. We're working on adding more context soon.
Interpretation
The lines liken an aged face to a white candle in a sacred space: something quiet, luminous, and worthy of reverence. The comparison shifts attention away from youthful surface beauty toward a beauty that comes from time—experience, endurance, and inner light made visible in features marked by years. The “holy place” suggests that age can be approached with respect rather than fear or dismissal, and that the signs of aging may carry a spiritual or moral radiance. Read this way, the couplet functions as a brief meditation on dignity, sanctity, and the transfiguring power of lived life.



