” 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
The source of all other loves is self-love
” Self-love is the source of all our other loves.” Pierre Corneille
Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent
” 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…
Love is the springtime flower that spreads its hope everywhere
” Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope. even the ruins to which it clings.” Gustave Flaubert
The sexual excitement of the young is labeled by the word love
” 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