Love is like a poisonous mushroom—you don’t know if it is the real thing until it is too late
—Indian Proverb
Busy old fool, unruly Sun, why dost thou thus through windows and through curtains call on us? Must to thy motions lovers seasons run?
—John Donne (1572–1631) English Poet, Cleric
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
Give love and unconditional acceptance to those you encounter, and notice what happens.
—Wayne Dyer (1940–2015) American Self-Help Author
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
Who can give law to lovers? Love is a greater law to itself.
—Boethius (c.480–524 CE) Roman Statesman, Philosopher
I would not miss your face, your neck, your hands, your limbs, your bosom and certain other of your charms. Indeed, not to become boring by naming them all, I could do without you, Chloe, altogether.
—Martial (40–104) Ancient Roman Latin Poet
But true love is a durable fire,
In the mind ever burning,
Never sick, never old, never dead,
From itself never turning.
—Walter Raleigh (1552–1618) English Courtier, Navigator, Poet
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
In prayer it is better to have a heart without words, than words without a heart.
—John Bunyan (1628–88) English Puritan Writer, Preacher
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
Love will find a way. Indifference will find an excuse.
—Indian Proverb
Love expands.
—Hugh Prather (b.1938) American Christian Author, Minister, Counselor
Love is an energy which exists of itself. It is its own value.
—Thornton Wilder (1897–1975) American Novelist, Playwright
Love is the fulfilling of the Law.
—The Holy Bible Scripture in the Christian Faith
You know what you are actually in love with? Integrity. The impossible. The clean, consistent, reasonable, self-faithful, the all-of-one-style, like a work of art.
—Ayn Rand (1905–82) Russian-born American Novelist, Philosopher
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
If you say, I love you, then you have already fallen in love with language, which is already a form of break up and infidelity.
—Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) French Sociologist, Philosopher
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
Regard a king as someone unconcerned with kingship.
—Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–73) Persian Muslim Mystic
Where love and wisdom drink out of the same cup, in this everyday world, it is the exception.
—Suzanne Curchod (1739–94) French-Swiss Salonist, Writer
Love is the immortal flow of energy that nourishes, extends and preserves. Its eternal goal is life.
—Smiley Blanton
Whether we love, or close our hearts to love, is a mental choice we make, every moment of every day.
—Marianne Williamson (b.1952) American Activist, Author, Lecturer
In the spiritual life there is no such thing as an indifference to love or hate.
—Thomas Merton (1915–68) American Trappist Monk
In nine cases out of ten, a woman had better show more affection than she feels.
—Jane Austen (1775–1817) English Novelist
Love is your window to the Infinite. Enjoy the view.
—Unknown
Responsibility of any kind can seem intimidating and for this reason man may often be afraid of truly deep relationships with other human beings. A relationship suggests to him the most extreme of responsibilities. It implies a burden, a restriction of freedom, seldom the converse. A student in love class, for instance, commented, “I’ve always been afraid of deep relationship because of the responsibility it seemed to impose. I was afraid of the demands it would make of me and I worried I wouldn’t be able to meet those demands. I was amazed to find that when I did get the courage to form a relationship, I actually became stronger. I acquired two minds instead of one, four hands, four arms, four legs, and another’s world. In joining forces with someone, I got twice the strength to grow, with twice as many alternatives. Now it’s easier for me to love others. I am stronger and I am less afraid”. He had discovered an important insight.
—Leo Buscaglia (1924–98) American Motivational Speaker
So much of what we know of love we learn as home.
—Unknown
How sweet it is to love, and to be dissolved, and as it were to bathe myself in thy love.
—Thomas a Kempis (1379–1471) German Religious Priest, Writer
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