Echoes Across Time

How Do You Define Love?

Ask a philosopher, a poet, a mystic, and a novelist the same question. You get four completely different answers — and each one is completely true. Erich Fromm, Rainer Maria Rilke, Teresa of Ávila, Oscar Wilde, bell hooks.

44 total quotes

“
Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.

—Martin Luther King Jr.Activist & Minister

Post-War ERA • North America

“
Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.

—Simone WeilPhilosopher, Mystic & Activist

Early Modern ERA • Western Europe

“
To love is to see a miracle invisible to others.

—Marina TsvetaevaPoet

Early Modern ERA • Eastern Europe

“
Music is not just notes, it's feeling, it's life, it's connection.

—Nnenna FreelonArtist

Digital Age ERA • North America

“
The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

—Bertrand RussellPhilosopher, Mathematician & Intellectual

Early Modern ERA • Western Europe

“
The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge.

—Bertrand RussellPhilosopher, Mathematician & Intellectual

Early Modern ERA • Western Europe

“
Love possesses not, nor will it be possessed.

—Kahlil GibranPoet, Philosopher & Artist

Early Modern ERA • MENA

“
Sorrow is a kind of love. It is the love that remains.

—Bienvenido SantosNovelist & Writer

Post-War ERA • Southeast Asia

“
Love is the cure for all ailments, the light in every darkness, the joy in every sorrow.

—JamiPoet & Scholar

Medieval ERA • Central Asia

“
Tenderness is the most modest form of love.

—Olga TokarczukNovelist & Essayist

Digital Age ERA • Eastern Europe

“
Love is a practice, and liberation is a practice.

—Alicia GarzaActivist

Digital Age ERA • North America

“
Love consists of this: two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other.

—Rainer Maria RilkePoet

Early Modern ERA • Western Europe

“
Love is the cure for all ailments; the balm for every sorrow.

—Farid ud-Din AttarPoet & Mystic

Medieval ERA • Central Asia

“
The love that can be measured, / Is not love at all.

—Amrita PritamPoet & Novelist

Post-War ERA • South Asia

“
Love is not about possession, but sacrifice. It demands everything, gives tirelessly.

—Chiung YaoNovelist

Post-War ERA • East Asia

“
The Lord is love itself and wisdom itself.

—Emanuel SwedenborgScientist, Philosopher & Mystic

Enlightenment ERA • Nordic

“
All poetry is history of the human heart, expressed in particular circumstances.

—Johann Gottfried HerderPhilosopher, Theologian & Critic

Enlightenment ERA • Western Europe

“
To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.

—Oscar WildePlaywright & Poet

Industrial Age ERA • Western Europe

“
To be loved is to be seen.

—Ocean VuongPoet & Novelist

Digital Age ERA • North America

“
The true revolutionary is guided by a great feeling of love.

—Thomas SankaraRevolutionary & President

Late Modern ERA • West Africa

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