Quotes
The wondrous feeling of being in love, they say, cannot be expressed in words alone. But this hasn't stopped us from trying. Oceans of ink have been spilled in hopes of capturing love in all its many forms. We offer you this sampling of our favorite attempts:
She looked at him, as one who awakes:
The past was a sleep, and her life began.
--Robert Browning (1812 - 1889), British poet. From Men and Women, "The Statue and the Bust."
But to see her was to love her, \
Love but her, and love for ever.
--Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), Scottish poet and songwriter. From "Ae Fond Kiss."
Love conquers all things except poverty and toothache.
--Attributed to Mae West (1892 - 1980), U.S. actor and comedian.
JULIET: My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.
--William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), English poet and playwright. From Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2.
I don't want to live--I want to love first, and live incidentally.
--Zelda Fitzgerald (1900 - 1948), U.S. writer. From a letter to her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
I have learned that every man lives not through care of himself, but by love.
--Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910), Russian writer. From Anna Karenina.
Drink to me with your eyes alone … And if you will, take the cup to your lips and fill it with kisses, and give it so to me."
--Flavius Philostratus (170? - 245), Greek writer. From "Letter 24."
Give me but what this ribband bound,
Take all the rest the sun goes round.
--Edmund Waller* (1606 - 1687), English poet. From "On a Girdle."
I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
--Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892), British poet. From "In Memoriam A. H. H." (Arthur Henry Hallam was the fiancé of Tennyson's sister Emily and died suddenly in September 1833.)
Look not in my eyes, for fear
They mirror true the sight I see,
And there you find your face too clear
And love it and be lost like me.
--A. E. Housman* (1859 - 1936), British poet and classicist. From "A Shropshire Lad."
The trick is to love somebody ... If you love one person, you see everybody else differently.
--Attributed to James Baldwin (1924 - 1987), U.S. writer and civil-rights activist.
Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking together in the same direction.
--Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900 - 1944), French writer and aviator. From Wind, Sand and Stars.
HELENA: Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind;
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind.
--William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), English poet and playwright. From A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 1, Scene 1.
The most wonderful thing in life is to be delirious and the most wonderful kind of delirium is being in love.
--Yevgeny Zamyatin (1884 - 1937), Russian writer. From "The Fisher of Men." (see Soviet Literature)
Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away.
--Attributed to Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967), U.S. writer and wit.
To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.
--Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970), British philosopher and mathematician. From Marriage and Morals.
When one is too old for love, one finds great comfort in good dinners.
--Zora Neale Hurston (1891 - 1960), U.S. writer and folklorist. From Moses: Man of the Mountain.
What love is, if thou wouldst be taught,
Thy heart must teach
alone--
Two souls with but a single thought,
Two hearts that beat as one.
--Friedrich Halm (1806 - 1871), German playwright and poet. From Ingomar the Barbarian (Maria Lovell, tr.).
You must always be a-waggle with LOVE.
--D. H. Lawrence (1885 - 1930), British writer. Referring to a dog in "Bibbles," from The Complete Poems of D. H. Lawrence.
When a man is in love
how can he use old words?
Should a woman
desiring her lover
lie down with grammarians and linguists?
--Nizar Qabbani (1923 - 1998), Syrian poet. From Modern Arabic Poetry, "Language" (Salma Khadra Jayyusi, ed.).
You're the Nile,
You're the Tower of Pisa,
You're the smile
On the Mona Lisa...
But if, baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!
--Cole Porter (1893 - 1964), U.S. songwriter and composer. Song lyric from "You're the Top."
Who told you there was no such thing as real, true, eternal love? Cut out his lying tongue!
--Mikhail Bulgakov* (1891 - 1940), Russian novelist and playwright. From The Master and Margarita (Michael Glenny, tr.).
With you I should love to live, with you be ready to die.
--Horace (65 - 8 BC), Roman poet. From Odes.
She looked at him, as one who awakes:
The past was a sleep, and her life began.
--Robert Browning (1812 - 1889), British poet. From Men and Women, "The Statue and the Bust."
But to see her was to love her, \
Love but her, and love for ever.
--Robert Burns (1759 - 1796), Scottish poet and songwriter. From "Ae Fond Kiss."
Love conquers all things except poverty and toothache.
--Attributed to Mae West (1892 - 1980), U.S. actor and comedian.
JULIET: My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.
--William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), English poet and playwright. From Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2.
I don't want to live--I want to love first, and live incidentally.
--Zelda Fitzgerald (1900 - 1948), U.S. writer. From a letter to her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald.
I have learned that every man lives not through care of himself, but by love.
--Leo Tolstoy (1828 - 1910), Russian writer. From Anna Karenina.
Drink to me with your eyes alone … And if you will, take the cup to your lips and fill it with kisses, and give it so to me."
--Flavius Philostratus (170? - 245), Greek writer. From "Letter 24."
Give me but what this ribband bound,
Take all the rest the sun goes round.
--Edmund Waller* (1606 - 1687), English poet. From "On a Girdle."
I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
--Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892), British poet. From "In Memoriam A. H. H." (Arthur Henry Hallam was the fiancé of Tennyson's sister Emily and died suddenly in September 1833.)
Look not in my eyes, for fear
They mirror true the sight I see,
And there you find your face too clear
And love it and be lost like me.
--A. E. Housman* (1859 - 1936), British poet and classicist. From "A Shropshire Lad."
The trick is to love somebody ... If you love one person, you see everybody else differently.
--Attributed to James Baldwin (1924 - 1987), U.S. writer and civil-rights activist.
Love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking together in the same direction.
--Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1900 - 1944), French writer and aviator. From Wind, Sand and Stars.
HELENA: Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind;
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind.
--William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), English poet and playwright. From A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 1, Scene 1.
The most wonderful thing in life is to be delirious and the most wonderful kind of delirium is being in love.
--Yevgeny Zamyatin (1884 - 1937), Russian writer. From "The Fisher of Men." (see Soviet Literature)
Love is like quicksilver in the hand. Leave the fingers open and it stays. Clutch it, and it darts away.
--Attributed to Dorothy Parker (1893 - 1967), U.S. writer and wit.
To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.
--Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970), British philosopher and mathematician. From Marriage and Morals.
When one is too old for love, one finds great comfort in good dinners.
--Zora Neale Hurston (1891 - 1960), U.S. writer and folklorist. From Moses: Man of the Mountain.
What love is, if thou wouldst be taught,
Thy heart must teach
alone--
Two souls with but a single thought,
Two hearts that beat as one.
--Friedrich Halm (1806 - 1871), German playwright and poet. From Ingomar the Barbarian (Maria Lovell, tr.).
You must always be a-waggle with LOVE.
--D. H. Lawrence (1885 - 1930), British writer. Referring to a dog in "Bibbles," from The Complete Poems of D. H. Lawrence.
When a man is in love
how can he use old words?
Should a woman
desiring her lover
lie down with grammarians and linguists?
--Nizar Qabbani (1923 - 1998), Syrian poet. From Modern Arabic Poetry, "Language" (Salma Khadra Jayyusi, ed.).
You're the Nile,
You're the Tower of Pisa,
You're the smile
On the Mona Lisa...
But if, baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!
--Cole Porter (1893 - 1964), U.S. songwriter and composer. Song lyric from "You're the Top."
Who told you there was no such thing as real, true, eternal love? Cut out his lying tongue!
--Mikhail Bulgakov* (1891 - 1940), Russian novelist and playwright. From The Master and Margarita (Michael Glenny, tr.).
With you I should love to live, with you be ready to die.
--Horace (65 - 8 BC), Roman poet. From Odes.