Who, being loved, is poor?
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
I leave before being left. I decide.
—Brigitte Bardot (b.1934) French Film Star
The world is wonderful and beautiful and good beyond one’s wildest imagination. Never, never, never could one conceive what love is, beforehand, never. Life can be great—quite god-like. It can be so. God be thanked I have proved it.
—D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) English Novelist, Playwright, Poet, Essayist, Literary Critic
Don’t wait until you die to learn the warrior’s way. Do it now, each night, just before you drift off to sleep. As you review your day, consider these two questions of courage and love. Learn from each day, so that each day you can show a little more courage and a little more love. Then, as incidents occur, you may rise to the occasion and look back at the end of your life and feel good about the way you lived.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Roman Catholic Missionary, Nun
This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
He has achieved success who has worked well, laughed often, and loved much.
—Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915) American Writer, Publisher, Artist, Philosopher
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.
—Unknown
To live differently, to love differently, to think differently, or to try to. Is the danger of beauty so great that it is better to live without it (the standard model)? Or to fall into her arms fire to fire? There is no discovery without risk and what you risk reveals what you value.
—Jeanette Winterson (b.1959) English Novelist, Journalist
Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
None but the brave deserve the fair.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
There is much suffering in the world—physical, material, mental. The suffering of some can be blamed on the greed of others. The material and physical suffering is suffering from hunger, from homelessness, from all kinds of diseases. But the greatest suffering is being lonely, feeling unloved, having no one. I have come more and more to realize that it is being unwanted that is the worst disease that any human being can ever experience.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Roman Catholic Missionary, Nun
The Impossible Generalized Man today is the critic who believes in loving those unworthy of love as well as those worthy –yet believes this only insofar as no personal risk is entailed. Meaning he loves no one, worthy or no. This is what makes him impossible.
—Nelson Algren (1909–81) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
Faith, like light, should always be simple and unbending; while love, like warmth, should beam forth on every side, and bend to every necessity of our brethren.
—Martin Luther (1483–1546) German Protestant Theologian
Love is the word used to label the sexual excitement of the young, the habituation of the middle-aged, and the mutual dependence of the old.
—John Ciardi (1916–86) American Poet, Teacher, Etymologist, Translator
To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.
—George MacDonald (1824–1905) Scottish Novelist, Lecturer, Poet
The strong calm man is always loved and revered.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
If thou neglectest thy love to thy neighbor, in vain thou professest thy love to God; for by thy love to God, the love to thy neighbor is begotten, and by the love to thy neighbor, thy love to God is nourished.
—Francis Quarles (1592–1644) English Religious Poet
The end of all wisdom is love, love, love.
—Ramana Maharshi (1879–1950) Indian Hindu Mystic
But I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
Love is a medicine for the sickness of the world; a prescription often given, too rarely taken.
—Karl Menninger (1893–1990) American Psychiatrist
I have made a ceaseless effort not to ridicule, not to bewail, not to scorn human actions, but to understand.
—Baruch Spinoza (1632–77) Dutch Philosopher, Theologian
Absence lessens half-hearted passions, and increases great ones, as the wind puts out candles and yet stirs up the fire.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
All love is sweet, Given or returned. Common as light is love, And its familiar voice wearies not ever. They who inspire is most are fortunate, As I am now: but those who feel it most Are happier still.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) English Poet, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist
Love is life. And if you miss love, you miss life.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
The more I think it over, the more I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
Love is like a friendship caught on fire. In the beginning a flame, very pretty,
Often hot and fierce, But still only light and flickering. As love grows older, Our hearts mature And our love becomes as coals, Deep-burning and unquenchable.
—Bruce Lee (1940–73) American Martial Artist, Actor, Philosopher
The love that lasts the longest is the love that is never returned.
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
To fall in love is to create a religion that has a fallible god.
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) Argentine Writer, Essayist, Poet
Scratch a lover, and find a foe.
—Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American Humorist, Journalist
From all the offspring of the earth and heaven love is the most precious.
—Sappho (c.630–c.580 BCE) Greek Poet
Mistresses are like books; if you pore upon them too much, they doze you and make you unfit for company; but if used discreetly, you are the fitter for conversation by em.
—William Wycherley (1640–1715) English Dramatist
Love unlocks doors and opens windows that weren’t even there before.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
If you live to be a hundred,
I want to live to be a hundred minus one day,
so I never have to live without you.
—A. A. Milne (1882–1956) British Humorist, Playwright, Children’s Writer
A man reserves his true and deepest love not for the species of woman in whose company he finds himself electrified and enkindled, but for that one in whose company he may feel tenderly drowsy.
—George Jean Nathan (1882–1958) American Drama Critic, Editor
Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.
—Unknown
Perhaps love is the process of my leading you gently back to yourself. Not to whom I want you to be, but to who you are.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
Love is the triumph of imagination over intelligence.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
Where both deliberate, the love is slight: Who ever lov’d, that lov’d not at first sight?
—Christopher Marlowe (1564–93) English Playwright, Poet, Translator
That is the true season of love, when we believe that we alone can love, that no one could ever have loved so before us, and that no one will love in the same way after us.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
Love is a promise, love is a souvenir, once given never forgotten, never let it disappear.
—John Lennon (1940–80) British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist
I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty. I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master. I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living. I believe that thrift is essential to well-ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs. I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order. I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man’s word should be as good as his bond; that character-not wealth or power or position-is of supreme worth. I believe that the rendering of useful service is the common duty of mankind and that only in the purifying fire of sacrifice is the dross of selfishness consumed and the greatness of the human soul set free. I believe in an all-wise and all-loving God, named by whatever name, and that the individual’s highest fulfillment, greatest happiness and widest usefulness are to be found in living in harmony with His will. I believe that love is the greatest thing in the world; that it alone can overcome hate; that right can and will triumph over might.
—John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (1874–1960) American Philanthropist, Businessperson
Someday, in the moment of death, your whole life will pass before you. In a few fractions of a second–because time no longer applies–you will see many incidents from your life in order to learn. You will review your life with two questions in your consciousness: Could I have shown a little more courage in these moments? Could I have shown a little more love? You will see where you let fear stop you from expressing who you are, how you feel, or what you need. You will see whether you were able to expand into these moments, just a little, to show love, or whether you contracted.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
Nothing is more dreadful than a cold, unimpassioned indulgence. And love infallibly becomes cold and unimpassioned when it is too lightly made.
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English Humanist, Pacifist, Essayist, Short Story Writer, Satirist
If I love you Wednesday, What is that to you? I do not love you Thursday — so much is true.
—Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950) American Poet, Playwright, Feminist
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
And think not you can guide the course of love. For love, if it finds you worthy, shall guide your course.
—Khalil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
Man while he loves is never quite depraved.
—Charles Lamb (1775–1834) British Essayist, Poet
Love inspired by unworthy motives dies when those motives disappear.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
The important thing was to love rather than to be loved.
—W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
Man’s love is of man’s life a thing apart. ‘Tis women’s whole existence.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (1788–1824) English Romantic Poet
Love is the only flower that grows and blossoms without the aid of seasons.
—Khalil Gibran (1883–1931) Lebanese-born American Philosopher, Poet, Painter, Theologian, Sculptor
Love conquers all; let us surrender to love.
—Virgil (70–19 BCE) Roman Poet
Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
Earth’s the right place for love. I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
—Robert Frost (1874–1963) American Poet
Love means to love that which is unlovable, or it is no virtue at all.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
What then in love can woman do? If we grow fond they shun us. And when we fly them, they pursue: But leave us when they’ve won us.
—John Gay (1685–1732) English Poet, Dramatist
It is at the edge of a petal that love waits.
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) American Poet, Novelist, Cultural Historian
It is ever the invisible that is the object of our profoundest worship. With the lover it is not the seen but the unseen that he muses upon.
—Christian Nestell Bovee (1820–1904) American Writer, Aphorist
The choicest thing this world has for a man is affection.
—Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819–81) American Editor, Novelist
Love cures people — both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.
—Karl Menninger (1893–1990) American Psychiatrist
Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
Perfect love is to feeling what perfect white is to color. Many think that white is the absence of color. It is not. It is the inclusion of all color. White is every other color that exists, combined. So, too, is love not the absence of an emotion (hatred, anger, lust, jealousy, covetousness), but the summation of all feeling. It is the sum total. The aggregate amount. The everything.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
Nobody can teach you love. Love you have to find yourself, within your being, by raising your consciousness to higher levels. And when love comes, there is no question of responsibility. You do things because you enjoy doing them for the person you love. You are not obliging the person, you are not even wanting anything in return, not even gratitude. On the contrary, you are grateful that the person has allowed you to do something for him. It was your joy, sheer joy. Love knows nothing of responsibility. It does many things, it is very creative; it shares all that it has, but it is not a responsibility, remember. Responsibility is an ugly word in comparison to love. Love is natural. Responsibility is created by the cunning priests, politicians who want to dominate you in the name of God, in the name of the nation, in the name of family, in the name of religion — any fiction will do. But they don’t talk about love. On the contrary, they are all against love, because love is unable to be controlled by them. A man of love acts out of his own heart, not according to any moral code. A man of love will not join the army because it is his responsibility to fight for his nation. A man of love will say there are no nations, and there is no question of any fight.
—Sri Rajneesh (Osho) (1931–90) Indian Spiritual Teacher
A bell is no bell ’til you ring it,
A song is no song ’til you sing it,
And love in your heart
Wasn’t put there to stay –
Love isn’t love
‘Til you give it away.
—Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960) American Songwriter, Composer, Theater Producer, Writer
Parrots, tortoises and redwoods live a longer life than men do; Men a longer life than dogs do; Dogs a longer life than love does.
—Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950) American Poet, Playwright, Feminist
Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound. The man who does not shrink from self-crucifixion can never fail to accomplish the object upon which his heart is set. This is true of earthly as of heavenly things. Even the man whose object is to acquire wealth must be prepared to make great personal sacrifices before he can accomplish his object; and how much more so he who would realize a strong and well-poised life.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
Love means the body, the soul, the life, the entire being. We feel love as we feel the warmth of our blood, we breathe love as we breathe air, we hold it in ourselves as we hold our thoughts. Nothing more exists for us.
—Guy de Maupassant (1850-93) French Novelist, Short-story Writer
True affection is a body of enigmas, mysteries and riddles, wherein two so become one that they both become two.
—Thomas Browne (1605–82) English Author, Physician
Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.
—Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American Poet
Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough. Not only have I found that when I talk to the little flower or to the little peanut they will give up their secrets, but I have found that when I silently commune with people they give up their secrets also—if you love them enough.
—George Washington Carver (1864–1943) American Scientist, Botanist, Educator, Inventor
The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Mathematician, Social Critic
Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.
—Zelda Fitzgerald (1899–1948) American Writer, Artist
Nothing is impossible for pure love.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.
—John of the Cross (1542–1591) Spanish Roman Catholic Mystic
It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them.
—Agatha Christie (1890–1976) British Novelist, Short-Story Writer, Playwright
Who so loves believes the impossible.
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–61) English Poet
An average man is too concerned with liking people or with being liked himself. A warrior likes, that’s all. He likes whatever or whomever he wants, for the hell of it.
—Carlos Castaneda (1925–98) Peruvian-born American Anthropologist, Author
The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.
—Wallace Wattles (1860–1911) American New Thought Author
Don’t brood. Get on with living and loving. You don’t have forever.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
—Anais Nin (1903–77) French-American Essayist
We need not be afraid to touch, to feel, to show emotion. The easiest thing in the world is to be what you are, what you feel. The hardest thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that position.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
Forgiveness is the final form of love.
—Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) American Christian Theologian
Love is the total absence of fear. Love asks no questions. Its natural state is one of extension and expansion, not comparison and measurement.
—Gerald Jampolsky (b.1925) American Psychiatrist
If you intend to use a horse a whole day and a love for a lifetime, keep the reins taut in the morning.
—Austin O’Malley (1858–1932) American Aphorist, Ophthalmologist
A man of sense may love like a madman, but not as a fool.
—Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613–80) French Writer
In love, as in gluttony, pleasure is a matter of the utmost precision.
—Italo Calvino (1923–85) Italian Novelist, Essayist, Journalist
Love is blind. That is why he always proceeds by the sense of touch.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
All love that has not friendship for its base, is like a mansion built upon the sand.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American Poet, Journalist
I know a love may be revived which absence, inconstancy, or even infidelity has extinguished, but there is no returning from a degout given by satiety.
—Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762) English Aristocrat, Poet, Novelist, Writer
You know you’re in love when you don’t want to fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.
—Theodor Seuss Geisel (‘Dr. Seuss’) (1904–91) American Children’s Books Writer, Writer, Cartoonist, Animator
God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, “I love you.”
—Billy Graham (1918–91) American Baptist Religious Leader
Success is achieved by development of our strengths, not by elimination of our weakness.
—Marilyn vos Savant (b.1946) American Columnist, Author, Lecture, Playwright
Where love is concerned, too much is not even enough.
—Pierre Beaumarchais (1732–99) French Inventor, Diplomat, Musician, Fugitive, Revolutionary
Love is an energy which exists of itself. It is its own value.
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) American Novelist, Playwright
If I love you, what business is it of yours?
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
For it is the suffering flesh, it is suffering, it is death, that lovers perpetuate upon the earth. Love is at once the brother, son, and father of death, which is its sister, mother, and daughter. And thus it is that in the depth of love there is a depth
—Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) Spanish Educator, Philosopher, Author
Love is the weapon which Omnipotence reserved to conquer rebel man when all the rest had failed. Reason he parries; fear he answers blow for blow; future interest he meets with present pleasure; but love is that sun against whose melting beams the winter cannot stand. There is not one human being in a million, nor a thousand men in all earth’s huge quintiilion whose clay heart is hardened against love.
—Martin Farquhar Tupper (1810–89) English Poet, Writer
It is here, my daughters, that love is to be found — not hidden away in corners but in the midst of occasions of sin. And believe me, although we may more often fail and commit small lapses, our gain will be incomparably the greater.
—Teresa of Avila (1515–82) Spanish Carmelite Nun, Mystic
It is possible that a man can be so changed by love as hardly to be recognized as the same person.
—Terence (c.195–159 BCE) Roman Comic Dramatist
There will always be about the same percentage of people capable of real love, and there will always be about the same percentage of people who aren’t.
—John Galsworthy (1867–1933) English Novelist, Playwright
Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright
The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that we need to make us really happy is something to be enthusiastic about.
—Charles Kingsley (1819–75) English Clergyman, Academic, Historian, Novelist
Lovers should also have their days off.
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972) American Playwright, Poet, Novelist
Only the words of love kept alive are worthy of not being wasted.
—Arlo Guthrie (b.1947) American Singer, Songwriter
We don’t believe in rheumatism and true love until after the first attack.
—Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916) Austrian Novelist
Love is the flower of life, and blossoms unexpectedly and without law, and must be plucked where it is found, and enjoyed for the brief hour of its duration.
—D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) English Novelist, Playwright, Poet, Essayist, Literary Critic
Embraces are cominglings from the head even to the feet, and not a pompous high priest entering by a secret place.
—William Blake (1757–1827) English Poet, Painter, Printmaker
Love is not love until love’s vulnerable.
—Theodore Roethke (1908–63) American Poet
The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
—e. e. cummings (1894–1962) American Poet, Writer, Painter
No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.
—Nelson Mandela (1918–2013) South African Political leader
If nobody loves you, be sure it is your own fault.
—Philip Doddridge (1702–51) English Nonconformist Religious Leader, Educator, Hymn writer
Joy is the happiness of love–love aware of its own inner happiness. Pleasure comes from without, and joy comes from within, and it is, therefore, within reach of everyone in the world.
—Fulton J. Sheen (1895–1979) American Catholic Religious Leader, Theologian
If there is any country on earth where the course of true love may be expected to run smooth, it is America.
—Harriet Martineau (1802–76) English Sociologist, Economist, Essayist, Philosopher
Art is not necessary at all. All that is necessary to make this world a better place to live in is to love –to love as Christ loved, as Buddha loved.
—Isadora Duncan (1877–1927) American Dancer, Choreographer
Love is not to be purchased, and affection has no price.
—Jerome (347–420) Greek Priest, Apologist, Saint
Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. It is a choice based on the knowledge that we belong to God and have found in God our refuge and our safety and that nothing, not even death, can take God away from us. Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing–sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death–can take that love away.
—Henri Nouwen (1932–96) Dutch Catholic Theologian, Writer
What “love” is I don’t know if it’s not the response of our deepest natures to one another.
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) American Poet, Novelist, Cultural Historian
A good marriage is one which allows for change and growth in the individuals and in the way they express their love.
—Pearl S. Buck (1892–1973) American Novelist, Human Rights Activist
Some women love only what they can hold in their arms; others, only what they can’t.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
True love is a discipline in which each divines the secret self of the other and refuses to believe in the mere daily self.
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) Irish Poet, Dramatist
The excesses of love soon pass, but its insufficiencies torment us forever.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
The more I think about it, the more I realize there is nothing more artistic than to love others.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
Love is an emotion experienced by the many and enjoyed by the few.
—George Jean Nathan (1882–1958) American Drama Critic, Editor
Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.
—Iris Murdoch (1919–99) British Novelist, Playwright, Philosopher
Love withers under constraints: its very essence is liberty: it is compatible neither with obedience, jealousy, nor fear: it is there most pure, perfect, and unlimited where its votaries live in confidence, equality and unreserve.
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822) English Poet, Dramatist, Essayist, Novelist
Well-ordered self-love is right and natural.
—Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) Italian Catholic Priest, Philosopher, Theologian
I shall always be a priest of love.
—D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) English Novelist, Playwright, Poet, Essayist, Literary Critic
Those who yield their souls captive to the brief intoxication of love, if no higher and holier feeling mingle with and consecrate their dream of bliss, will shrink trembling from the pangs that attend their waking.
—August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845) German Poet, Literary Critic, Scholar
It is love, not reason, that is stronger than death.
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955) German Novelist, Short Story Writer, Social Critic, Philanthropist, Essayist
The whole business of love and lovemaking, is painted by the novelists in a monstrous disproportion to the other elations of life.
—William Dean Howells (1837–1920) American Novelist, Short story Author, Editor
It would be impossible to “love” anyone or anything one knew completely. Love is directed towards what lies hidden in its object.
—Paul Valery (1871–1945) French Critic, Poet
We cannot avoid using power, cannot escape the compulsion to afflict the world, so let us, cautious in diction and mighty in contradiction, love powerfully.
—Martin Buber (1878–1965) Austrian Jewish Theologian, Philosopher, Novelist
I have an everyday religion that works for me. Love yourself first, and everything else falls into line.
—Lucille Ball (1911–89) American Actor, Comedian, Model
…if the beginnings of love and amorous politics are equally rosy, then the ends may be equally bloody.
—Alain de Botton (b.1969) Swiss-born British Philosopher, Author
All the things that truly matter–beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace–arise from beyond the mind.
—Eckhart Tolle (b.1948) German Spiritual Writer, Public Speaker, Spiritual Teacher
In peace, love tunes the shepherd’s reed; in war, he mounts the warrior’s steed; in halls, in gay attire is seen; in hamlets, dances on the green. Love rules the court, the camp, the grove, and men below, and saints above; for love is heaven, and heaven is love.
—Walter Scott (1771–1832) Scottish Novelist, Poet, Playwright, Lawyer
We find rest in those we love, and we provide a resting place in ourselves for those who love us.
—Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153) French Catholic Religious Leader
Life’s greatest happiness is to be convinced we are loved.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
We choose those we like; with those we love, we have no say in the matter.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
The advantage of love at first sight is that it delays a second sight.
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972) American Playwright, Poet, Novelist
Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.
—John Donne (1572–1631) English Poet, Cleric
Love should be a vehicle allowed to travel without limitations.
—Marvin J. Ashton (1915–94) American Mormon Religious Leader
Love is an ocean of emotions entirely surrounded by expenses.
—Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar (1864–1930) Scottish Businessperson
There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) American Novelist, Playwright
To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in all others.
—Sophie Swetchine (1782–1857) Russian Mystic, Writer
To love and be loved is the great happiness of existence.
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845) English Clergyman, Essayist, Wit
Hate leaves ugly scars, love leaves beautiful ones.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
The love which shirks from reproving is no love.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.
—Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) American Political Leader, Inventor, Diplomat
If we make our goal to live a life of compassion and unconditional love, then the world will indeed become a garden where all kinds of flowers can bloom and grow.
—Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (1926-2004) American Psychiatrist
Love is not the dying moan of a distant violin-it’s the triumphant twang of a bedspring.
—S. J. Perelman (1904–79) American Humorist, Author, Screenwriter
Love is blind.
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400) English Poet, Philosopher, Diplomat, Bureaucrat
Love is staying up all night with a sick child — or a healthy adult.
—David Frost (1939–2013) English Broadcaster, Writer
Love is the last relay and ultimate outposts of eternity.
—Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–82) English Poet, Painter, Translator
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
—Pablo Neruda (1904–73) Chilean Poet, Diplomat, Political leader
Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don’t know how to replenish it’s source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of withering, of tarnishing.
—Anais Nin (1903–77) French-American Essayist
When I am getting ready to reason with a man, I spend one-third of my time thinking about myself and what I am going to say and two-thirds about him and what he is going to say.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Do you want me to tell you something really subversive? Love is everything it’s cracked up to be. That’s why people are so cynical about it. … It really is worth fighting for, being brave for, risking everything for. And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.
—Erica Jong (b.1942) American Novelist, Feminist
Love never reasons but profusely gives; gives, like a thoughtless prodigal, its all, and trembles lest it has done too little.
—Hannah More
The kingdom of God is within you.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
Love is something eternal; the aspect may change, but not the essence.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
There is a compensation for everything except our first love.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself. Before you can move their tears, your own must flow. To convince them, you must yourself believe.
—Winston Churchill (1874–1965) British Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Journalist, Author
Great loves, to the last, have pulses red; all great loves that have ever died dropped dead.
—Helen Hunt Jackson (1830–85) American Novelist, Civil Rights Activist
Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.
—Che Guevara (1928–67) Argentine-Cuban Revolutionary
One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched.
—Jean de La Bruyere (1645–96) French Satiric Moralist, Author
When our conjugal love was strong, the width of the threshold offered sufficient accommodation for both of us; but now that it has cooled down, a couch sixty yards wide is too narrow.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
A gossip is one who talks to you about others; a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself.
—Lisa Kirk (1925–1990) American Stage, Film, Television Performer
Fear and love can never be experienced at the same time. It is always our choice as to which of these emotions we want.
—Gerald Jampolsky (b.1925) American Psychiatrist
No matter where you go, however far away, a part of me will be with you and a part of you, with me, will stay
But to see her was to love her, love but her, and love her forever
As for me, to love you alone, to make you happy, to do nothing which would contradict your wishes, this is my destiny and the meaning of my life.
—Napoleon I (1769–1821) Emperor of France
All fair in love and war.
—Common Proverb
Love is being stupid together.
—Paul Valery (1871–1945) French Critic, Poet
There is a law that man should love his neighbor as himself. In a few hundred years it should be as natural to mankind as breathing or the upright gait; but if he does not learn it he must perish.
—Alfred Adler (1870–1937) Austrian Psychiatrist
Love is the strongest force the world possesses, and yet it is the humblest imaginable.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
One does not fall “in” or “out” of love. One grows in love.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
We need others. We need others to love and we need to be loved by them. There is no doubt that without it, we too, like the infant left alone, would cease to grow, cease to develop, choose madness and even death.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.
—Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000) American Cartoonist, Writer, Artist
Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young.
—Arthur Wing Pinero (1855–1934) English Actor, Dramatist, Theater Personality
The hardest-learned lesson: that people have only their kind of love to give, not our kind.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Love does not care to define and is never in a hurry to do so.
—Charles Du Bos (1882–1939) French Literary Critic
For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation … Loving does not at first mean merging, surrendering, and uniting with another person—it is a high inducement for the individual to ripen … to become world in himself for the sake of another person; it is a great, demanding claim on him, something that chooses him and calls him to vast distances.
—Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926) Austrian Poet
It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.
—Rene Descartes (1596–1650) French Mathematician, Philosopher
Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the Gods.
—Plato (428 BCE–347 BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
We love the virtues, but do not fall in love with them. — They confirm and nurture love, but after middle age they do not give it birth.
—Arthur Sherburne Hardy (1847–1930) American Engineer, Educator, Editor, Diplomat, Novelist, Poet
We’ve got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can’t just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it’s going to get on by itself. You’ve got to keep watering it. You’ve got to really look after it and nurture it.
—John Lennon (1940–80) British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist
The Bible speaks of a mysterious sin for which there is no forgiveness: this great unpardonable sin is the murder of the “love-life” in a human being.
—Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906) Norwegian Playwright
No one has ever loved anyone the way everyone wants to be loved.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.
—Robert A. Heinlein (1907–88) American Novelist, Short story Author, Essayist, Screenwriter
If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) Irish Playwright
Naturally, love’s the most distant possibility.
—Georges Bataille (1897–1962) French Essayist, Intellectual
No one can understand love who has not experienced infatuation. And no one can understand infatuation, no matter how many times he has experienced it.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Love, like fire, goes out without fuel.
—Mikhail Lermontov (1814–41) Russian Novelist, Poet
Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?
—Christopher Marlowe (1564–93) English Playwright, Poet, Translator
He who loves thee scolds thee.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
I don’t want to live. I want to love first, and live incidentally.
—Zelda Fitzgerald (1899–1948) American Writer, Artist
It is by loving and by being loved that one can come nearest to the soul of another.
—George MacDonald (1824–1905) Scottish Novelist, Lecturer, Poet
Three things produce love: culture of mind, modesty, and meekness.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worse when they despise him. But of a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: “we did it ourselves.”
—Laozi (fl.6th Century BCE) Chinese Philosopher, Sage
Everyone admits that love is wonderful and necessary, yet no one agrees on just what it is.
—Diane Ackerman (b.1948) American Poet, Essayist, Naturalist
Love without attachment is light.
—Norman O. Brown (1913–2002) American Philosopher
I have learned not to worry about love; but to honor its coming with all my heart.
—Alice Walker (b.1944) American Novelist, Activist
All love is probationary, a fact which frightens women and exhilarates men.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
Love is a fruit in season at all times, and in reach of every hand.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Roman Catholic Missionary, Nun
A slight touch of friendly malice and amusement towards those we love keeps our affections for them from turning flat.
—Logan Pearsall Smith (1865–1946) American-British Essayist, Bibliophile
Men and women are not free to love decently until they have analyzed themselves completely and swept away every mystery from sex; and this means the acquisition of a profound philosophical theory based on wide reading of anthropology and enlightened practice.
—Aleister Crowley (1875–1947) English Occultist, Mystic, Magician
When once estrangement has arisen between those who truly love each other, everything seems to widen the breach.
—Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1837–1915) British Novelist
Love matches are made by people who are content, for a month of honey, to condemn themselves to a life of vinegar.
—Marguerite Gardiner, Countess of Blessington (1789–1849) Irish Novelist, Writer
One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life; that word is love.
—Sophocles (495–405 BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist
When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving oneself; and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
I love you, and because I love you, I would sooner have you hate me for telling you the truth than adore me for telling you lies.
—Pietro Aretino (1492–1556) Italian Author, Playwright, Poet, Satirist
Love gives itself; it is not bought.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
Infatuation is when you think that he’s as sexy as Robert Redford, as smart as Henry Kissinger, as noble as Ralph Nader, as funny as Woody Allen, and as athletic as Jimmy Conners. Love is when you realize that he’s as sexy as Woody Allen, as smart as Jimmy Conners, as funny as Ralph Nader, as athletic as Henry Kissinger, and nothing like Robert Redford–but you’ll take him anyway.
—Judith Viorst (b.1931) American Psychoanalyst, Journalist, Writer
Love rarely overtakes, it mostly comes to meet us.
—Wilhelm Stekel (1868–1940) Austrian Physician, Psychologist
People who are not in love fail to understand how an intelligent man can suffer because of a very ordinary woman. This is like being surprised that anyone should be stricken with cholera because of a creature so insignificant as the comma bacillus.
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922) French Novelist
Life is a quest and love a quarrel …
—Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950) American Poet, Playwright, Feminist
We cannot teach people anything; we can only help them discover it within themselves.
—Galileo Galilei (1564–1642) Italian Astronomer, Physicist, Mathematician
If we are to become the masters of science, not its slaves, we must learn to use its immense power to good purpose. The machine itself has neither mind nor soul nor moral sense. Only man has been endowed with these godlike attributes. Every age has its destined duty. Ours is to nurture an awareness of those divine attributes and a sense of responsibility in giving them expression.
—David Sarnoff (1891–1972) American Broadcaster, Businessman
Another kind of love and compassion is not based on something appearing beautiful or nice, but based on the fact that the other person, just like oneself, wants happiness and does not want suffering and indeed has every right to be happy and to overcome suffering. On such a basis, we feel a sense of responsibility, a sense of closeness toward that being. That is true compassion. This is because the compassion is based on reason, not just on emotional feeling. As a consequence, it does not matter what the other’s attitude is, whether negative, or positive. What matters is that it is a human being, a sentient being that has the experience of pain and pleasure. There is no reason not to feel compassion so long as it is a sentient being.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
I know no better augury of a young man’s future than true filial devotion. Very rarely does one go morally wrong, whose passionate love to his mother is a ruling force in his life, and whose continual desire is to gladden her heart. Next to the love of God, this is the noblest emotion. I do not remember a single instance of a young fellow going to the bad who was tenderly devoted to his parents.
—John Thain Davidson (1833–1904) British Presbyterian Preacher
Don’t be like the preacher who thought about praying while making love with his life and thought about love while praying.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love.
—Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle) (1783–1842) French Writer
We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Roman Catholic Missionary, Nun
The bravest are the tenderest. The loving are the daring.
—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807–82) American Poet, Educator, Academic
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him with his friendship.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
O love! thine essence is thy purity! Breathe one unhallowed breath upon thy flame and it is gone forever, and but leaves a sullied vase, — its pure light lost in shame.
—Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–38) English Poet, Novelist
Come live with me, and be my love, and we will all the pleasures prove.
—Christopher Marlowe (1564–93) English Playwright, Poet, Translator
Creativity and love come from the same source.
—Laurens van der Post (1906–96) South African-born British Political leader, Author, Educator, Journalist, Humanitarian
If you treat people right they will treat you right — ninety percent of the time.
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) American Head of State, Lawyer
The way to a woman’s heart is through your wallet.
—Frank Lane (1896–1981) American Sportsperson, Businessperson
There are four questions of value in life… What is sacred? Of what is the spirit made? What is worth living for, and what is worth dying for? The answer to each is the same. Only love.
—Don Juan DeMarco 1995 American Romantic Comedy-drama Film
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Playwright
Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
—Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–73) Persian Muslim Mystic
Did a woman ever love who would not give all the years of tasteless serenity for one year, for one month, for one day of uncalculating delirium of love poured out upon the man who returned it.
—Charles Dudley Warner (1829–1900) American Essayist, Novelist
The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a deal longer.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist
The best of conversations occur when there is no competition, no vanity, but a calm quiet interchange of sentiments.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can’t utter.
—James Earl Jones (b.1931) American Actor, Theater Personality
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need; by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints,–I love thee with the breath.
Smiles, tears, of all my life!–and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–61) English Poet
The mark of a true crush
Is that you fall in love first
And grope for reasons afterward.
—Shana Alexander (1925–2005) American Journalist, Editor, Author
To be nobody-but-yourself–in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else–means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.
—e. e. cummings (1894–1962) American Poet, Writer, Painter
Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop.
—Unknown
The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.
—Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) New Zealand-born British Author
I love to hold people’s hands when I visit hospitals, even though they are shocked because they haven’t experienced anything like it before, but to me it is a normal thing to do.
—Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–97) English Royal, Humanitarian, Peace Activist
True love is night jasmine, a diamond in darkness, the heartbeat no cardiologist has ever heard. It is the most common of miracles, fashioned of fleecy clouds — a handful of stars tossed into the night sky.
—Jim Bishop (1907–87) American Journalist, Author
I can live without money, but I cannot live without love.
—Judy Garland (1922–69) American Actress, Singer
The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.
—Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) American Head of State, Political leader, Historian, Explorer
Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (b.1940) American Self-Help Author
An idea, to be suggestive, must come to the individual with the force of a revelation.
—William James (1842–1910) American Philosopher, Psychologist, Physician
Be faithful to your love and you mill be recompensed beyond measure.
—Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) French Theologian, Musician, Philosopher, Physician
He who, silent, loves to be with us — he who loves us in our silence — has touched one of the keys that ravish hearts.
—Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741–1801) Swiss Theologian, Poet
Love is all you need.
—Paul McCartney (b.1942) English Pop Singer, Songwriter
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.
—John Bunyan (1628–88) English Puritan Writer, Preacher
With people with only modest ability, modesty is mere honesty; but with those who possess great talent, it is hypocrisy.
—Arthur Schopenhauer (1788–1860) German Philosopher
One can be a soldier without dying, and a lover without sighing.
—Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) English Poet, Journalist, Editor
Love is the silent saying and saying of a single name.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Everything is clearer when you’re in love.
—John Lennon (1940–80) British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist
First love is an instinct — at once a gift and a sacrifice. — Every other is a philosophy — a bargain.
—Arthur Sherburne Hardy (1847–1930) American Engineer, Educator, Editor, Diplomat, Novelist, Poet
The only abnormality is the incapacity to love.
—Anais Nin (1903–77) French-American Essayist
Love is the child of illusion and the parent of disillusion.
—Miguel de Unamuno (1864–1936) Spanish Educator, Philosopher, Author
Praise is well, compliment is well, but affection-that is the last and most precious reward that any man can win, whether by character or achievement.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Love takes no advice.
—The Talmud Sacred Text of the Jewish Faith
As soon as the love relationship does not lead me to me, as soon as I in a love relationship do not lead another person to himself, this love, even if it seems to be the most secure and ecstatic attachment I have ever experienced, is not true love. For real love is dedicated to continual becoming.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
Love is the difficult realization that something other than oneself is real.
—Iris Murdoch (1919–99) British Novelist, Playwright, Philosopher
Love’s overbrimming mystery joins death and life. It has filled my cup of pain with joy.
—Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Bengali Poet, Polymath
You haven’t yet opened your heart fully, to life, to each moment. The peaceful warrior’s way is not about invulnerability, but absolute vulnerability–to the world, to life, and to the Presence you felt. All along I’ve shown you by example that a warrior’s life is not about imagined perfection or victory; it is about love. Love is a warrior’s sword; wherever it cuts, it gives life, not death.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
It is the privilege of those who fear love to murder those who do not fear it!
—May Sarton (1912–95) American Children’s Books Writer, Poet, Novelist
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
—Confucius (551–479 BCE) Chinese Philosopher
Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.
—Helen Keller (1880–1968) American Author
We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet
To be able to say how much you love is to love but little.
—Petrarch (1304–74) Italian Scholar, Poet, Humanist
If we seek the pleasures of love, passion should be occasional, and common sense continual.
—Robertson Davies (1913–95) Canada Journalist, Playwright, Academic, Critic, Novelist
Love alone can unite living beings so as to complete and fulfill them… for it alone joins them by what is deepest in themselves. All we need is to imagine our ability to love developing until it embraces the totality of men and the earth.
—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) French Jesuit Philosopher, Paleontologist
Live authentically. Live your truth. And if you love me for anything, love me because I live mine.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
To always be loved one must ever be agreeable.
—Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762) English Aristocrat, Poet, Novelist, Writer
The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate… Returning violence for violence multiples violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
It is one of the beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another, without helping himself.
—Gamaliel Bailey (1807–59) American Antislavery Journalist
I believe love produces a certain flowering of the whole personality which nothing else can achieve.
—Ivan Turgenev (1818–83) Russian Novelist, Playwright
He has the right to criticize who has the heart to help.
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–65) American Head of State
Must love be ever treated with profaneness as a mere illusion? or with coarseness as a mere impulse? or with fear as a mere disease? or with shame as a mere weakness? or with levity as a mere accident? whereas it is a great mystery and a great necessity, lying at the foundation of human existence, morality, and happiness, — mysterious, universal, inevitable as death.
—Harriet Martineau (1802–76) English Sociologist, Economist, Essayist, Philosopher
There is a sufficiency in the world for man’s need but not for man’s greed.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
Don’t be afraid of showing affection. Be warm and tender, thoughtful and affectionate. Men are more helped by sympathy than by service. Love is more than money, and a kind word will give more pleasure than a present.
—John Lubbock (1834–1913) English Politician, Biologist
There are no great things, only small things with great love. Happy are those.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Roman Catholic Missionary, Nun
Life is the flower for which love is the honey.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
You are goodness and mercy and compassion and understanding. You are peace and joy and light. You are forgiveness and patience, strength and courage, a helper in time of need, a comforter in time of sorrow, a healer in time of injury, a teacher in times of confusion. You are the deepest wisdom and the highest truth; the greatest peace and the grandest love. You are these things. And in moments of your life you have known yourself to be these things. Choose now to know yourself as these things always.
—Neale Donald Walsch (b.1943) American Spiritual Writer
To love and to be loved, one must do good to others. The inevitable condition whereby to become blessed, is to bless others.
—Mary Baker Eddy (1821–1910) American Christian Science Religious Leader, Humanitarian, Writer
Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
If we listened to our intellect we’d never have a love affair. We’d never have a friendship. We’d never go in business because we’d be cynical: It’s gonna go wrong. Or She’s going to hurt me. Or, I’ve had a couple of bad love affairs, so therefore … Well, that’s nonsense. You’re going to miss life. You’ve got to jump off the cliff all the time and build your wings on the way down.
—Ray Bradbury (b.1920) American Novelist, Short Story Writer
‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
Any one thing in the creation is sufficient to demonstrate a Providence to a humble and grateful mind.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
The love of liberty is the love of others; the love of power is the love of ourselves. We cannot force love.
—William Hazlitt (1778–1830) English Essayist
It is better to be high-spirited, even though one makes more mistakes, than to be narrow-minded and all too prudent. It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love, is well done.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
There’s one sad truth in life I’ve found
While journeying east and west –
The only folks we really wound
Are those we love the best.
We flatter those we scarcely know,
We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow
To those who love us best.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American Poet, Journalist
I hated her now with a hatred more fatal than indifference because it was the other side of love.
—August Strindberg (1849–1912) Swedish Playwright, Novelist, Essayist
Sympathy constitutes friendship; but in love there is a sort of antipathy, or opposing passion. Each strives to be the other, and both together make up one whole.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) English Poet, Literary Critic, Philosopher
Take away love and our earth is a tomb.
—Robert Browning (1812–89) English Poet
Love consists not in feeling great things but in having great detachment and in suffering for the Beloved.
—John of the Cross (1542–1591) Spanish Roman Catholic Mystic
Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.
—Louise Hay (b.1926) American Author
Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated.
—Alphonse de Lamartine (1790–1869) French Poet, Politician, Historian
One does not fall in love; one grows into love, and love grows in him.
—Karl Menninger (1893–1990) American Psychiatrist
Every man needs two women, a quiet home-maker, and a thrilling nymph.
—Iris Murdoch (1919–99) British Novelist, Playwright, Philosopher
However it is debased or misinterpreted, love is a redemptive feature. To focus on one individual so that their desires become superior to yours is a very cleansing experience.
—Jeanette Winterson (b.1959) English Novelist, Journalist
In love, unlike most other passions, the recollection of what you have had and lost is always better than what you can hope for in the future.
—Stendhal (Marie-Henri Beyle) (1783–1842) French Writer
An individual has not begun to live until he can rise above the narrow horizons of his particular individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. And this is one of the big problems of life, that so many people never quite get to the point of rising above self. And so they end up the tragic victims of self-centeredness. They end up the victims of distorted and disrupted personality.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
Take spring when it comes, and rejoice. Take happiness when it comes, and rejoice. Take love when it comes, and rejoice.
—Carl Anton Ewald (1845–1915) German Gastroenterologist
It is difficult to lay aside a confirmed passion.
—Catullus (84–54 BCE) Roman Latin Poet
Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.
—Emily Bronte (1818–48) English Novelist, Poet
For there we loved, and where we love is home,
Home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist
The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them.
—Thomas Merton (1915–68) American Trappist Monk
Know that a word suddenly shot from the tongue is like an arrow shot from the bow. Son, that arrow won’t turn back on its way; you must damn the torrent at its source.
—Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–73) Persian Muslim Mystic
Love is stronger than violence.
—Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) German-born Swiss Novelist, Poet
Love the moment and the energy of the moment will spread beyond all boundaries.
—Corita Kent (1918–86) American Artist, Graphic Artist, Educator
The woman that has not touched the heart of a man, before he leads her to the altar, has scarcely a chance to charm it when possession and security turn their powerful arms against her.
—Abraham Cowley (1618–67) English Poet, Essayist
He who has a thousand friends has not a friend to spare, and he who has one enemy will meet him everywhere.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Wise men say, only fools rush in. But I can’t help falling in love with you.
—Elvis Presley (1935–77) American Musician, Singer, Songwriter, Actor
Love is just a system for getting someone to call you darling after sex.
—Julian Barnes (b.1946) British Novelist, Critic
You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. The great acts of love are done by those who are habitually performing small acts of kindness. We pardon to the extent that we love. Love is knowing that even when you are alone, you will never be lonely again. & great happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved. Loved for ourselves. & even loved in spite of ourselves.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
Is it not by love alone that we succeed in penetrating to the very essence of being?
—Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971) Russian-born American Composer, Musician
There can be no friendship without confidence, and no confidence without integrity.
—Samuel Johnson (1709–84) British Essayist
Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be built.
—James Allen (1864–1912) British Philosophical Writer
I learned the real meaning of love. Love is absolute loyalty. People fade, looks fade, but loyalty never fades. You can depend so much on certain people, you can set your watch by them. And that’s love, even if it doesn’t seem very exciting.
—Sylvester Stallone (b.1946) American Actor, Film Director, Screenwriter
Love sees what no eye sees; love hears what no ear hears; and what never rose in the heart of man love prepares for its object.
—Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741–1801) Swiss Theologian, Poet
Love is not blind; it is an extra eye, which shows us what is most worthy of regard.
—J. M. Barrie (1860–1937) Scottish Novelist, Dramatist
The man who follows the crowd will usually get no further than the crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been.
—Alan Ashley-Pitt (Francis Phillip Wernig) American Writer, Aphorist
Many a man has fallen in love with a girl in a light so dim he would not have chosen a suit by it.
—Maurice Chevalier (1888–1972) French Actor, Singer
Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.
—James Baldwin (1924–87) American Novelist, Social Critic
So long as a person is capable of self-renewal, he is a living being.
—Henri Frederic Amiel (1821–81) Swiss Moral Philosopher, Poet, Critic
The influence of each human being on others in this life is a kind of immortality.
—John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) Sixth President of the USA
The days grow shorter, the nights grow longer, the headstones thicken along the way; and life grows sadder, but love grows stronger for those who walk with us day by day.
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850–1919) American Poet, Journalist
To love is to approach each other center to center.
—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) French Jesuit Philosopher, Paleontologist
The only reward of virtue is virtue; the only way to have a friend is to be one.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Love doesn’t just sit there like a stone; it has to be made, like bread, remade all the time, made new.
—Ursula K. Le Guin (b.1929) American Science fiction and fantasy writer
Everyone of us needs to show how much we care for each other and, in the process, care for ourselves.
—Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–97) English Royal, Humanitarian, Peace Activist
Good nature is the cheapest commodity in the world, and love is the only thing that will pay ten percent to both borrower and lender.
—Robert G. Ingersoll (1833–99) American Lawyer, Orator, Agnostic
Let grace and goodness be the principal loadstone of thy affections. For love which hath ends, will have an end; whereas that which is founded on true virtue, will always continue.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright
It’s easy to halve the potato where there’s love.
—Irish Proverb
Do you have the courage for it? Do you have the love? If you have enough of one, you will develop the other.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader
I met in the street a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat worn, his cloak was out at the elbows, the water passed through his shoes—and the stars through his soul.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist
Love is the affinity which links and draws together the elements of the world… Love, in fact, is the agent of universal synthesis.
—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) French Jesuit Philosopher, Paleontologist
We can never obtain peace in the world if we neglect the inner world and don’t make peace with ourselves. World peace must develop out of inner peace.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
Four be the things I’d been better without: Love, curiosity, Freckles and doubt.
—Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American Humorist, Journalist
The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire.
—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) French Jesuit Philosopher, Paleontologist
Lord, grant that I might not so much seek to be loved as to love.
—Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) Italian Monk, Founder of the Franciscan Order
Mumps, measles, and puppy love are terrible after twenty.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Be a good human being, a warm-hearted affectionate person. That is my fundamental belief. Having a sense of caring, a feeling of compassion will bring happiness of peace of mind to oneself and automatically create a positive atmosphere.
—The 14th Dalai Lama (b.1935) Tibetan Buddhist Religious Leader, Civil Rights Leader, Philosopher, Author
Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle… (or) Einstein’s Theory of Relativity … (or) the Second Theory of Thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.
—Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–68) American Civil Rights Leader, Clergyman
A woman’s whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world: it is there her ambition strives for empire; it is there her avarice seeks for hidden treasures. She sends forth her sympathies on adventure; she embarks her whole soul on the traffic of affection; and if shipwrecked, her case is hopeless — for it is a bankruptcy of the heart.
—Washington Irving (1783–1859) American Essayist, Biographer, Historian
Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.
—Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American Poet
Being in love was like China: you knew it was there, and no doubt it was very interesting, and some people went there, but I never would. I’d spend all my life without ever going to China, but it wouldn’t matter, because there was all the rest of the world to visit.
—Philip Pullman (b.1946) English Children’s Author
Someday, after mastering winds, waves, tides and gravity, we shall harness the energy of love; and for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.
—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) French Jesuit Philosopher, Paleontologist
If there’s delight in love, ‘Tis when I see that heart, which others bleed for, bleed for me.
—William Congreve (1670–1729) English Playwright, Poet
Love expands.
—Hugh Prather (b.1938) American Christian Author, Minister, Counselor
The opposite of love is indifference, and the opposite of happiness is—here’s the clincher—boredom.
—Tim Ferriss (b.1977) American Self-help Author
Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place.
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960) American Novelist
Why is it so difficult to love wisely, so easy to love too well?
—Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1837–1915) British Novelist
It is unfortunately very true that, without leisure and money, love can be no more than an orgy of the common man. Instead of being a sudden impulse full of ardor and reverie, it becomes a distastefully utilitarian affair.
—Charles Baudelaire (1821–67) French Poet, Art Critic, Essayist, Translator
If a woman doesn’t chase a man a little, she doesn’t love him.
—E. W. Howe (1853–1937) American Novelist, Editor
You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.
—Amy Carmichael (1867–1951) British Protestant Missionary
To be authentic literally means to be your own author.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
Who are wise in love, love most, say least.
—Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–92) British Poet
I was half in love with her by the time we sat down. That’s the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they’re not much to look at, or even if they’re sort of stupid, you fall half in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are.
—J. D. Salinger (1919–2010) American Novelist, Short-story Writer
If it is your time, love will track you down like a cruise missile.
—Lynda Barry (b.1956) American Cartoonist, Author
The man who is aware of himself is henceforward independent; and he is never bored, and life is only too short, and he is steeped through and through with a profound yet temperate happiness.
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941) English Novelist
A woman is more considerate in affairs of love than a man; because love is more the study and business of her life.
—Washington Irving (1783–1859) American Essayist, Biographer, Historian
No love is entirely without worth, even when the frivolous calls to the frivolous and the base to the base.
—Iris Murdoch (1919–99) British Novelist, Playwright, Philosopher
Desire creates havoc when it is the only thing between two people, or when it is what’s missing.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.
—Robert Frost (1874–1963) American Poet
For woman’s love — I mean self-love, is boundless, just like the sea, and sometimes quite as groundless.
—Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806–67) American Poet, Playwright, Essayist
Love is not just looking at each other, it’s looking in the same direction.
—Antoine de Saint-Exupery (1900–44) French Novelist, Aviator
Love is the master-key that opens the gates of happiness, of hatred, of jealousy, and, most easily of all, the gate of fear. How terrible is the one fact of beauty!
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist
Avoid this dangerous mix of personal (grasping), spiritual and selfless love. Most of the time it ends in frustration.
—Hans Taeger
The more clearly you understand yourself and your emotions, the more you become a lover of what is.
—Baruch Spinoza (1632–77) Dutch Philosopher, Theologian
When you’re in love you never really know whether your elation comes from the qualities of the one you love, or if it attributes them to her; whether the light which surrounds her like a halo comes from you, from her, or from the meeting of your sparks.
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972) American Playwright, Poet, Novelist
What the world really needs is more love and less paperwork.
—Pearl Bailey (1918–1990) American Jazz Singer, Actress, Writer
Live in my heart and pay no rent.
—Samuel Lover (1797–1868) Anglo-Irish Writer, Artist, Songwriter
Woman — for example, look at her case! She turns tantalizing inviting glances on you. You seize her. No sooner does she feel herself in your grasp than she closes her eyes. It is a sign of her mission, the sign by which she says to man: “Blind yourself, for I am blind.”
—Luigi Pirandello (1867–1936) Italian Dramatist, Novelist, Short Story Writer, Author
Perfect love casts out fear. Where there is love there are no demands, no expectations, no dependency. I do not demand that you make me happy; my happiness does not lie in you. If you were to leave me, I will not feel sorry for myself; I enjoy your company immensely, but I do not cling.
—Anthony de Mello (1931–87) Indian-born American Theologian
Open your heart and take us in,
Love – love and me.
—William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) English Poet, Critic, Editor
Fantasy love is much better than reality love. Never doing it is very exciting. The most exciting attractions are between two opposites that never meet.
—Andy Warhol (1928–87) American Painter, Printmaker, Film Personality
The more familiar two people become, the more the language they speak together departs from that of the ordinary, dictionary-defined discourse. Familiarity creates a new language, an in-house language of intimacy that carries reference to the story the two lovers are weaving together and that cannot be readily understood by others.
—Alain de Botton (b.1969) Swiss-born British Philosopher, Author
God created the flirt as soon as he made the fool.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist