gild the lily vs regenerate

gild the lily

verb
  • To embellish or improve something unnecessarily. 

  • To add superfluous attributes to something. 

regenerate

verb
  • To construct or create anew, especially in an improved manner. 

  • To become reconstructed. 

  • To undergo a spiritual rebirth. 

  • To revitalize. 

  • Of a water softener: to flush out the minerals extracted from the water supply. 

  • To replace lost or damaged tissue. 

adj
  • Spiritually reborn. 

noun
  • One who is spiritually reborn. 

How often have the words gild the lily and regenerate occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )