To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself.
—Simone de Beauvoir, 1949Quotes
O flesh, flesh, how art thou fishified!
—William Shakespeare, c. 1596One’s body, hair, and skin are a gift from one’s parents—do not dare to allow them to be harmed.
—Classic of Filial Piety, c. 200 BCIf I see something sagging, dragging, or bagging, I’m going to go have the stuff tucked or plucked.
—Dolly Parton, 2003Flesh was the reason why oil painting was invented.
—Willem de Kooning, 1949I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king.
—Elizabeth I, 1588To know intense joy without a strong bodily frame, one must have an enthusiastic soul.
—George Eliot, 1872It hurts to watch the fluency of a body acclimated to its shackling.
—Leslie Jamison, 2014Every tooth in a man’s head is more valuable than a diamond.
—Miguel de Cervantes, 1605The body is an instrument which only gives off music when it is used as a body.
—Anaïs Nin, 1935The human body is the best picture of the human soul.
—Ludwig Wittgenstein, c. 1947Shame on the soul, to falter on the road of life while the body still perseveres.
—Marcus Aurelius, c. 170The features of our face are hardly more than gestures which force of habit has made permanent.
—Marcel Proust, 1919