Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.
John DonneRead
Dull sublunary lovers' love (Whose soul is sense) cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove Those things which elemented it.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses that physical love is tied to presence and cannot endure absence.
In this quote, John Donne reflects on the nature of earthly, physical love, arguing that such love relies heavily on the physical presence of the beloved. He suggests that when lovers are apart, the essence of their connection diminishes, as their love is rooted in sensory experiences and tangible interaction, making absence detrimental to their bond.
Themes
LoveAbsencePresenceConnectionRelationship
In practice
Example use cases
Sharing this quote during a wedding speech to highlight the importance of presence in love.
More from John Donne
All quotes →Reason is our soul's left hand, Faith her right, By these we reach divinity
John DonneRead
All occasions invite His mercies, and all times are His seasons.
John DonneRead
If poisonous minerals, and if that tree, Whose fruit threw death on else immortal us, If lecherous goats, if serpents envious Cannot be damned; alas; why should I be?
John DonneRead
Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
John DonneRead
I call not that virginity a virtue, which resideth onely in the bodies integrity; much less if it be with a purpose of perpetually keeping it: for then it is a most inhumane vice. - But I call that Virginity a virtue which is willing and desirous to yield it self upon honest and lawfull terms, when just reason requireth; and until then, is kept with a modest chastity of body and mind.
John DonneRead
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