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"All that glitters is not gold" is an aphorism stating that not everything that looks precious or true turns out to be so.
While early expressions of the idea are known from at least the 12th–13th century, the current saying is derived from a 16th-century line by William Shakespeare, "All that glisters is not gold".
The expression, in various forms, originated in or before the 12th century[1] and may date back to Æsop.[2] The Latin is Non omne quod nitet aurum est.[3] The French monk Alain de Lille wrote "Do not hold everything gold that shines like gold" in 1175.[4]
Chaucer gave two early versions in English: "But al thyng which that shyneth as the gold / Nis nat gold, as that I have herd it told" in "The Canon's Yeoman's Tale",[3] and "Hyt is not al golde that glareth" in "The House of Fame".[5] John Heywood, writing a compilation of proverbial wisdom in 1546, included a line, "All is not golde that glisters by tolde tales".[6]
The popular form of the expression is a derivative of a line in William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, which employs the word "glisters," a 16th-century synonym for "glitters." The line comes from a secondary plot of the play, in the scroll inside the golden casket the puzzle of Portia's boxes (Act II – Scene VII – Prince of Morocco):[7]
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 judgment old,
Your answer had not been inscrolled
Fare you well. Your suit is cold—— William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, Act II Scene 7
The original version of the saying used the word glisters, though it is often taken as the similar and synonymous glitters. The poet John Dryden used glitter in his 1687 poem The Hind and the Panther.[8]
Arthur Golding, in his 1577 English translation of John Calvin's sermons on the Epistle to the Ephesians, used the phrase "But al is not gold that glistereth" in sermon 15.[9]
In 1747, Thomas Gray paraphrased the saying in his Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes which finishes with the lines:
Not all that tempts your wandering eyes
And heedless hearts, is lawful prize;
Nor all that glisters, gold".[10]
Early uses
In H.M.S Pinafore, an 1878 comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, the phrase appears as "all that glitters is not gold."[11]
In 1901, the sheet music publishers M. Witmark & Sons released "All That Glitters Is Not Gold", featuring words by George A. Norton and music by James W. Casey.[12] While the title of the song is All That Glitters Is Not Gold, the first reference in the lyrics is all is not gold that glitters. The song is perhaps best remembered today for its inclusion in Bowery Bugs (1949), a Bugs Bunny cartoon based on the story of Steve Brodie.
In 1946, a different song, also by the name "All That Glitters Is Not Gold" was released by Decca Records. That song was written by Alice Cornett, Eddie Asherman, and Lee Kuhn, and recorded by Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra.[13] The song was subsequently covered by several other artists.
Tolkien
The phrase is referenced with a reversal of the usual meaning in J. R. R. Tolkien's poem "The Riddle of Strider", originally written for The Fellowship of the Ring:[14]
All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.— J. R. R. Tolkien, "The Riddle of Strider", The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
The poem emphasizes that sometimes gold is hidden or mistaken for something else, as opposed to gaudy facades being mistaken for real gold. Strider, secretly the rightful king of Gondor, appears to be a mere Ranger. Both Tolkien's phrase and the original ask the reader to look beneath the skin, rather than judging on outward appearance.[14]
Popular music
Led Zeppelin reference the phrase in the opening line of their 1971 hit "Stairway to Heaven": "There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold".
Neil Young used the phrase in his song "Don't Be Denied" ("Well, all that glitters isn't gold/I know you've heard that story told"), from his 1973 album Time Fades Away, to express his "realization that even success wouldn't make him happy", even after he obtained fame and money.[15]
In the 1973 single "Get Up, Stand Up" by The Wailers, Bob Marley and Peter Tosh used the phrase in the first verse to reflect the themes of the song - namely the critiques of colonialism and Christianity, and their roles in creating a feeling of resignation among the African diaspora contrary to their values and beliefs:[16]
Preacher man don't tell me heaven is under the earth,
I know you don't know what life is really worth,
It's not all that glitter is gold,
Half the story has never been told,
So now you see the light,
Stand up for your right.— Bob Marley, "Get Up, Stand Up"
The song "Gold" by Prince has the refrain "All that glitters ain't gold".
A deviation from the phrase can be found in the song "Posthuman" by Marilyn Manson, released on the 1998 album Mechanical Animals, whose lyrics include the line "All that glitters is cold".[17]
Rock band Smash Mouth used the version, "All that glitters is gold", in their 1999 song, "All Star."[18]
Kanye West also used the saying in his song "Family Business"
- "Gods of the Copybook Headings" – a poem reflecting on eternal truths amid human pretensions, by Rudyard Kipling
- "Things Are Seldom What They Seem" – song in Gilbert and Sullivan's HMS Pinafore, where Little Buttercup alludes to Captain Corcoran's low birth by singing of things that may appear as one thing whilst being another, including the line "All that glitters is not gold".
- "Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes" – poem by Thomas Gray which ends "Nor all, that glisters, gold"
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