Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.
—Robert Frost (1874–1963) American Poet
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
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 Psychologist, Psychiatrist
If nobody loves you, be sure it is your own fault.
—Philip Doddridge (1702–51) English Nonconformist Religious Leader, Educator, Hymn 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
The more connections you and your lover make, not just between your bodies, but between your minds, your hearts, and your souls, the more you will strengthen the fabric of your relationship, and the more real moments you will experience together.
—Barbara De Angelis (b.1951) American Lecturer, Author, TV Personality, Motivational Speaker
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
The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.
—E. E. Cummings (1894–1962) American Children’s Books Writer, Poet, Artist
Love, love, love – all the wretched cant of it, masking egotism, lust, masochism, fantasy under a mythology of sentimental postures.
—Germaine Greer (b.1939) Australia Academic, Journalist, Scholar, Writer
Lovers should also have their days off.
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972) American Playwright, Poet, Novelist
Three things produce love: culture of mind, modesty, and meekness.
—The Talmud
We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) German Poet, Novelist, Playwright, Philosopher
Love with old men is as the sun upon the snow, it dazzles more than it warms them.
—Jean Antoine Petit-Senn (1792–1870) Swiss Poet
To be authentic literally means to be your own author.
—Dan Millman (b.1946) American Children’s Books Writer, Sportsperson
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 choicest thing this world has for a man is affection.
—Josiah Gilbert Holland (1819–81) American Novelist, Poet
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
Creativity and love come from the same source.
—Laurens van der Post (1906–96) South African-born British Political leader, Author, Educator, Journalist, Humanitarian
Life is a quest and love a quarrel …
—Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950) American Poet, Playwright, Feminist
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 Pediatrician, Doctor, Poet, Socialist, Author
The advantage of love at first sight is that it delays a second sight.
—Natalie Clifford Barney (1876–1972) American Playwright, Poet, Novelist
One word frees us from the weight
and pain of life; that word is love.
—Sophocles (495BCE–405BCE) Ancient Greek Dramatist, Poet
To love is to approach each other center to center.
—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) French Jesuit Philosopher, Priest, Paleontologist, Geologist
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
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, Priest, Paleontologist, Geologist
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
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, Poet
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
The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved, loved for ourselves, or rather loved in spite of ourselves.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist, Poet, Playwright, Essayist
Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader, Philosopher, Civil Rights Activist
To love and be loved is the great happiness of existence.
—Sydney Smith (1771–1845) English Anglican Writer, Critic
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, Biographer, Poet, Writer, Literary Critic
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
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 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
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 Author, Poet, Editor
The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer.
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–94) American Physician, Essayist, Academic, Poet
To fall in love is to create a religion that has a fallible god.
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) Argentine Writer, Essayist, Poet
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
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) Albanian Catholic Humanitarian
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
Naturally, love’s the most distant possibility.
—Georges Bataille (1897–1962) French Philosopher, Writer
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, Head of State
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 good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
—Bertrand A. Russell (1872–1970) British Philosopher, Logician, Mathematician, Historian, Social Critic
Love expands.
—Hugh Prather (1938–2010) American Christian Author, Minister, Counselor
Love is something eternal; the aspect may change, but not the essence.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
Love is blind.
—Geoffrey Chaucer (1343–1400) English Poet, Philosopher, Diplomat, Bureaucrat
Where love is concerned, too much is not even enough.
—Pierre Beaumarchais (1732–99) French Inventor, Diplomat, Musician, Fugitive, Revolutionary
Love is an ocean of emotions entirely surrounded by expenses.
—Thomas Dewar, 1st Baron Dewar (1864–1930) Scottish Businessperson
Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) Irish Poet, Dramatist, Short Story Writer, Journalist, Writer
Why is it so difficult to love wisely, so easy to love too well?
—Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1837–1915) British Novelist
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
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, Poet, Theater Personality
Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.
—Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000) American Cartoonist, Writer, Artist
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
Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.
—Louise Hay (b.1926) American Author
We don’t believe in rheumatism and true love until after the first attack.
—Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830–1916) Austrian Novelist
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 Children’s Books Writer, Poet, Artist
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
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, Philosopher, Civil Rights Activist
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
Nobody has ever measured, even the poets, how much a heart can hold.
—Zelda Fitzgerald (1900–48) American Novelist
In love, as in gluttony, pleasure is a matter of the utmost precision.
—Italo Calvino (1923–85) Italian Journalist, Short Story Writer, Novelist, Essayist
Open your heart and take us in,|Love – love and me.
—William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) English Poet, Critic, Editor
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, Poet, Theologian, Jurist
Of all the paths that lead to a woman’s love, pity is the straightest.
—Francis Beaumont (1584–1616) English Dramatist
Everything is clearer when you’re in love.
—John Lennon (1940–80) British Singer, Songwriter, Musician, Activist
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
Only the words of love kept alive are worthy of not being wasted
—Arlo Guthrie (b.1947) American Singer, Songwriter
Live in my heart and pay no rent.
—Samuel Lover (1797–1868) Irish Songwriter, Novelist, Painter
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 (1891–1971) American Sportsperson, Businessperson
Love’s overbrimming mystery joins death and life. It has filled my cup of pain with joy.
—Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) Indian Hindu Polymath, Novelist, Poet, Essayist, Philosopher
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
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
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, Poet, Playwright, 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
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
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
Love is a medicine for the sickness of the world; a prescription often given, too rarely taken.
—Karl Menninger (1893–1990) American Psychiatrist
The best way to know God is to love many things.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved—loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist, Poet, Playwright, Essayist
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
Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?
—Christopher Marlowe (1564–93) English Playwright, Poet, Translator
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
The excesses of love soon pass, but its insufficiencies torment us forever.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
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
The way to love anything is to realize that it may be lost.
—G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) English Journalist, Novelist, Essayist, Poet
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
I shall always be a priest of love.
—D. H. Lawrence (1885–1930) English Novelist, Playwright, Poet, Essayist, Literary Critic
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
God created the flirt as soon as he made the fool.
—Victor Hugo (1802–85) French Novelist, Poet, Playwright, Essayist
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
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
It is love, not reason, that is stronger than death.
—Thomas Mann (1875–1955) German Novelist, Short Story Writer, Social Critic, Philanthropist, Essayist
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
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
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
Love is an emotion experienced by the many and enjoyed by the few.
—George Jean Nathan (1882–1958) American Drama Critic, Editor
Love rarely overtakes, it mostly comes to meet us.
—Wilhelm Stekel (1868–1940) Austrian Physician, Psychologist
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
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
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
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, Priest, Paleontologist, Geologist
Sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated.
—Alphonse de Lamartine (1790–1869) French Writer, Poet, Politician, Memoirist
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
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 should be a vehicle allowed to travel without limitations.
—Marvin J. Ashton (1915–94) American Mormon Religious Leader
Hate leaves ugly scars, love leaves beautiful ones.
—Mignon McLaughlin (1913–83) American Journalist, Author
One can be a soldier without dying, and a lover without sighing.
—Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) English Poet, Journalist, Editor
The way to a woman’s heart is through your wallet.
—Frank Lane (1896–1981) American Sportsperson, Businessperson
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
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
One does not fall in love; one grows into love, and love grows in him.
—Karl Menninger (1893–1990) American Psychiatrist
Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.
—Maya Angelou (1928–2014) African-American Poet, Author, Civil Rights Activist
The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.
—Katherine Mansfield (1888–1923) New Zealander Short story
Love the art in yourself and not yourself in the art.
—Constantin Stanislavski (1863–1938) Russian Actor, Theater Personality
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)
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
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 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) Hong-Kong-born American Sportsperson, Actor, Philosopher, Film Director, Screenwriter
None but the brave deserve the fair.
—John Dryden (1631–1700) English Poet, Literary Critic, Playwright, Translator
Clenched Soul
—Pablo Neruda (1904–73) Chilean Poet, Diplomat, Political leader
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 Priest, Writer, Theologian
To always be loved one must ever be agreeable.
—Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762) English Aristocrat, Poet, Novelist, Writer
Love is an energy which exists of itself. It is its own value.
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) American Novelist, Playwright
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
Everyone admits that love is wonderful and necessary, yet no one agrees on just what it is.
—Diane Ackerman (b.1948) American Children’s Books Writer, Author, Poet, Naturalist
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
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
Love is the joy of the good, the wonder of the wise, the amazement of the Gods.
—Plato (428BCE–347BCE) Ancient Greek Philosopher, Mathematician, Educator
It is possible that a man can be so changed by love as hardly to be recognized as the same person.
—Terence Ancient Roman Playwright
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
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
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
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
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
He who is intoxicated with wine will be sober again in the course of the night, but he who is intoxicated by the cup bearer will not recover his senses until the day of judgment.
—Sa’Di (Musharrif Od-Din Muslih Od-Din) (1184–1283) Persian Poet
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, Priest, Paleontologist, Geologist
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
If it is your time, love will track you down like a cruise missile.
—Lynda Barry (b.1956) American Cartoonist, Author
Never forget the three powerful resources you always have available to you: love, prayer, and forgiveness.
—H. Jackson Brown, Jr. American Author
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
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 Actor
Love without attachment is light.
—Norman O. Brown (1913–2002) American Philosopher
It is difficult to lay aside a confirmed passion.
—Catullus Roman Latin Poet
Saddest Poem
—Pablo Neruda (1904–73) Chilean Poet, Diplomat, Political leader
To love deeply in one direction makes us more loving in all others.
—Sophie Swetchine (1782–1857) Russian Christian Mystic
Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.
—Che Guevara (1928–67) Argentinean Political leader, Diplomat, Physician, Author
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
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, Priest, Paleontologist, Geologist
It is at the edge of a petal that love waits.
—William Carlos Williams (1883–1963) American Pediatrician, Doctor, Poet, Socialist, Author
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
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
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
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
Love is not love until love’s vulnerable.
—Theodore Roethke (1908–63) American 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 never reasons but profusely gives; gives, like a thoughtless prodigal, its all, and trembles lest it has done too little.
—Hannah More
Earth’s the right place for love. I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
—Robert Frost (1874–1963) American Poet
Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.
—Iris Murdoch (1919–99) English Novelist, Philosopher
Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within the reach of every hand.
—Mother Teresa (1910–97) Albanian Catholic Humanitarian
The more clearly you understand yourself and your emotions, the more you become a lover of what is.
—Baruch Spinoza (1632–77) Dutch Philosopher
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
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
The treasures of the deep are not so precious as are the concealed comforts of a man locked up in woman’s love.
—Conyers Middleton (1683–1750) English Clergyman, Theologian
Nothing is impossible for pure love.
—Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) Indian Hindu Political leader, Philosopher, Civil Rights Activist
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
Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time.
—Maya Angelou (1928–2014) African-American Poet, Author, Civil Rights Activist
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 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
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 done well.
—Vincent van Gogh (1853–90) Dutch Painter
I don’t want to live. I want to love first, and live incidentally.
—Zelda Fitzgerald (1900–48) American Novelist
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 prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.
—John Bunyan (1628–88) English Christian Writer, Preacher
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, Memoirist, Author
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, Philosopher, Civil Rights Activist
Love cures people — both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.
—Karl Menninger (1893–1990) American Psychiatrist
Take spring when it comes, and rejoice. Take happiness when it comes, and rejoice. Take love when it comes, and rejoice.
—Carl Anton Ewald
Infatuation is when you think 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 Connors, 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 looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind.
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616) British Playwright, Poet, Author