All that glitters is not gold

All that glitters is not gold

"All that glitters is not gold" is a well-known saying.

The expression, in various forms, dates from at least as far as the 12th century. [ [http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/28450.html The Phrase Finder] ; but see [http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/18/messages/56.html another view] ] . It might even go back as far as Aesop. [ [http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=All%20that%20glitters%20is%20not%20gold Discussion at Everything2] ]

The popular form of the expression is a corruption of a line in William Shakespeare's play, "The Merchant of Venice". The line comes from the secondary plot, the puzzle of Portia's boxes:

cquote
"All that glisters is not gold;
""Often have you heard that told:
""Many a man his life hath sold
""But my outside to behold:
""Gilded tombs do worms enfold.
""Had you been as wise as bold,
""Young in limbs, in judgement old
""Your answer had not been inscroll'd
""Fare you well, your suit is cold.
"

Note that Shakespeare used "glisters" rather than "glitters".

Cultural references

*In Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings", one of Bilbo's poems begins "All that is Gold Does Not Glitter".

*Thomas Gray's poem [http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ode_on_the_Death_of_a_Favourite_Cat%2C_Drowned_in_a_Tub_of_Gold_Fishes "Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes"] ends with a form of the aphorism.

*Neil Young's song "Don't Be Denied" from "Time Fades Away" contains the lyric "All that Glitters Isn't Gold."

*The lyrics of Led Zeppelin's famous song "Stairway to Heaven" begin with the words:"There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold"
:"And she's buying a stairway to heaven"

*"All that Glitters Isn't Gold" is a 1990 song by the Cover Girls.

*Marilyn Manson's song "Posthuman" contains the words "All that glitters is cold".

*Bruce Dickinson's song "Return of the King" contains the words "I know the king will come again when all that glitters turn to rust".

*Smash Mouth's song "All Star" contains the verse "All that glitters "is" gold, Only shooting stars break the mold."

*Kanye West's song "Family Business", contains the words in the intro "All that glitters is not gold, now gold is not a reality, real is what you live to be"

*Peter Tosh sings the line "it's not everything, you know, that glitter is gold" in the Wailers' "Brand New Second Hand"

*In "Diablo II," Warriv speaks of Gheed (after the mission The Forgotten Tower) as "All that twitters is not bold".

*The particularly unusual episode "All That Glitters" of "SpongeBob SquarePants" features a mysterious superimposed Spongebob delivering the quotation while his on-screen counterpart learns such a moral lesson.

ee also

*All That Glitters, list of shows whose name is derived from the proverb

References


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