Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, Sonnet to the Fair Geraldine. "Hold their farthing candles to the sun". Tottel's Miscellany (1557)
“
Sith Nature thus gave her the praise, To be the chiefest work she wrought, In faith, methink, some better ways On your behalf might well be sought, Than to compare, as ye have done, To match the candle with the sun.
— Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey on Beauty
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Sith Nature thus gave her the praise, To be the chiefest work she wrought, In faith, methink, some better ways On your behalf might well be sought, Than to compare, as ye have done, To match the candle with the sun." in the context of "Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, Sonnet to the Fair Geraldine. "Hold their farthing candles to the sun". Tottel's Miscellany (1557)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Beauty" (H)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey KG (1516 / 1517 – January 19 1547) was an English courtier, soldier and poet. He invented blank verse, and along with Thomas Wyatt he introduced the sonnet to English poetry.
About Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey KG (1516 / 1517 – January 19 1547) was an English courtier, soldier and poet. He invented blank verse, and along with Thomas Wyatt he introduced the sonnet to English poetry.
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