More company increases happiness, but does not lighten or diminish misery.
Thomas TraherneRead
To love one person with a private love is poor and miserable: to love all is glorious.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Loving one person exclusively can feel limiting, while a universal love enriches life.
This quote by Thomas Traherne suggests that focusing love on only one individual may lead to a sense of inadequacy or loneliness, implying that the act of loving broadly, embracing all people, can elevate one's spirit and create a sense of fulfillment. It advocates for a form of love that recognizes the interconnectedness of humanity, proposing that a love shared with many brings joy and glory rather than sorrow.
Themes
LoveUniversalConnectionJoyFulfillment
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community building, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of loving and supporting each other.
More from Thomas Traherne
All quotes βWe do not ignore maturity. Maturity consists in not losing the past while fully living in the present with a prudent awareness of the possibilities of the future.
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Happiness was not made to be boasted, but enjoyed. Therefore tho others count me miserable, I will not believe them if I know and feel myself to be happy; nor fear them.
Thomas TraherneRead
You never know yourself till you know more than your body.
Thomas TraherneRead
Certainly Adam in Paradise had not more sweet and curious apprehensions of the world, than I when I was a child.
Thomas TraherneRead
The soul is made for action, and cannot rest till it be employed. Idleness is its rust. Unless it will up and think and taste and see, all is in vain.
Thomas TraherneRead
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