Everything in any way beautiful has its beauty of itself, inherent and self-sufficient: praise is no part of it. At any rate, praise does not make something better or worse. This applies even to the popular conception of beauty, as in material things or works of art. So does the truly beautiful need anything beyond itself?…Does an emerald lose its quality if it is not praised?”

—Marcus Aurelius, #20, Book 4 of Meditations