Who said “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your…”?

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William Morris. A published source records them saying or writing it.

Source"The Beauty of Life", a lecture before the Birmingham Society of Arts and School of Design (19 February 1880), later published in Hopes and Fears for Art: Five Lectures Delivered in Birmingham, London, and Nottingham, 1878–1881 (1882)

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“If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
— William Morris
Verified"The Beauty of Life", a lecture before the Birmingham Society of Arts and School of Design (19 February 1880), later published in Hopes and Fears for Art: Five Lectures Delivered in Birmingham, London, and Nottingham, 1878–1881 (1882) · evidenceHome
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Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: "The Beauty of Life", a lecture before the Birmingham Society of Arts and School of Design (19 February 1880), later published in Hopes and Fears for Art: Five Lectures Delivered in Birmingham, London, and Nottingham, 1878–1881 (1882).

APA

Morris, W. (n.d.). If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/21757-if-you-want-a-golden-rule-that-will/

MLA

Morris, William. “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/21757-if-you-want-a-golden-rule-that-will/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Morris, William. “If you want a golden rule that will fit everybody, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/21757-if-you-want-a-golden-rule-that-will/.

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More quotes by William Morris

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“I pondered all these things, and how men fight and lose the battle, and the thing that they fought for comes about in spite of their defeat, and when it comes turns out not to be what they meant, and other men have to fight for what they meant under another name.”
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“I love art, and I love history, but it is living art and living history that I love. It is in the interest of living art and living history that I oppose so-called restoration. What history can there be in a building bedaubed with ornament, which cannot at the best be anything but a hopeless and lifeless imitation of the hope and vigor of the earlier world?”
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