‘All that glitters is not gold’ is a popular saying warning against falsehood. This proverb means that “not all things that seem appealing are actually good for us”.
Gold is bright yellow metal and it shines brightly. However, there are many things which shine bright, but they are not gold.
Similarly, a thing may look bright and beautiful, but it may not be valuable. We should not judge a thing by its outward appearance; we should examine the thing carefully and find out if it has any real value.
The real value of a thing does not lie in its appearances are sometimes deceptive. A person may wear fine dress, his appearance may be beautiful, but in reality he may be very bad person. Again, a man’s dress may not be good; his appearance may be ugly, but such a man may process real qualities at head and heart.
The following examples from everyday events explains the relevance of the proverb in today’s world:
- Whilst shopping. The proverb reminds us to only purchase things of true worth.
- Choosing friends. People we may like at first may turn out to be not so good in the end.
- Seizing opportunities. That appealing new job prospect may turn out to be too arduous and stressful for instance.
- Chasing dreams. We need to sort fact from fiction.
- Believing people’s promises. Sometimes, people can give us false hope.
Thus, a man should be judged by his inner qualities and his deeds. A man should never be judged by his outward appearance and his words. ‘One may smirk and be a villain’. So, an attractive exterior may be false. The proverb tells us that we should develop the habit of forming a correct judgment and study things carefully and minutely so that we may not be deceived by outward appearances.