The reason why all men honor love is because it looks up, and not down; aspires and not despairs.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
To love in the sense of passion-love is the contrary of to live. It is an impoverishment of one's being, an askesis without sequel, an inability to enjoy the present without imagining it as absent, a never-ending flight from possession.
Interpretation
True passion can sometimes lead to a depletion of present enjoyment, creating a longing for what is absent.
In this quote, Denis De Rougemont explores the idea that passionate love can consume an individual's entire being, leading to a state of lacking fulfillment in the present moment. This form of love, rather than enhancing life, often diminishes it by instilling a sense of perpetual longing and an inability to fully appreciate what one has, as the mind continuously retreats into fantasies of unattained desires.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about romantic relationships and the nature of passion.
The reason why all men honor love is because it looks up, and not down; aspires and not despairs.
Love all God’s creation, both the whole and every grain of sand. Love every leaf, every ray of light. Love the animals, love the plants, love each separate thing. If thou love each thing thou wilt perceive the mystery of God in all; and when once thou perceive this, thou wilt thenceforward grow every day to a fuller understanding of it: until thou come at last to love the whole world with a love that will then be all-embracing and universal.
Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love Divine; Love was born at Christmas; Star and angels gave the sign.
Remember her hair in the morning before it was pinned, black, rampant, savage with loveliness. As if she slept in perpetual storm.
The best thing I ever saw was a man who loved his wife.
Depression is the flaw in love. There's no such thing as love without the anticipation of loss. And that specter of despair can be the engine of intimacy.
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