"Aspect are within us, and who seems most kingly is king"

Thomas Hardy’s assertion that “Aspect are within us, and who seems most kingly is king” presents a meditation on the internal origins of perception and the constructed nature of status. “Aspect” here can be understood as the qualities, moods, or appearances through which we view both ourselves and others. By locating aspect “within us,” Hardy suggests that our judgments of worth, nobility, or authority are not objective truths set in stone, but subjective projections, colored by personal experience and internal temperament. The seat of importance is not the external world but human apprehension and imagination.

The second half of the phrase, “and who seems most kingly is king,” further deepens this idea. Rather than monarchy or nobility being determined by divine right or outward power, Hardy contends that what counts as regal or kingly is a matter of perception. Kingship, here, is not necessarily inherited or decreed, but performed and recognized. The “kingly” persona arises from the observer’s perspective as much as from the actions or status of the individual observed. Appearances, presentation, and the ability to inspire belief in leadership become the decisive elements of authority.

This perspective resonates with Hardy’s broader literary themes: the fluidity of meaning, the instability of authority, and the roles illusions and interpretations play in shaping reality. If all aspects stem from within, then value and greatness are not universally fixed but endlessly mutable, determined by the inner landscapes of those who assess them. A commoner, radiating confidence and gravity, may be perceived as more kingly than one born to rule without presence or command. The implication is subtly democratic; power rests with the beholder, and reality is remade with every shift in perception. Thus, through Hardy’s phrase, readers are invited to recognize how much of status and meaning arises from within their own minds, and how much their own “aspects” shape the world they see.