When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.
Edith HamiltonRead
Love, however, cannot be forbidden. The more that flame is covered up, the hotter it burns. Also love can always find a way. It was impossible that these two whose hearts were on fire should be kept apart. (Pyramus and Thisbe)
Interpretation
What this quote means
Love is a powerful force that cannot be easily suppressed or contained.
This quote expresses the idea that true love is resilient and cannot be extinguished, no matter the obstacles in its path. The analogy of flame suggests that attempts to hide or suppress love only intensify its passion and urgency, indicating that love will always seek a way to manifest itself despite any barriers.
Themes
LovePassionObstaclesDesireConnection
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a wedding speech to emphasize the strength of the couple's love.
More from Edith Hamilton
All quotes →The power of good is shown not by triumphantly conquering evil, but by continuing to resist evil while facing certain defeat.
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Theories that go counter to the facts of human nature are foredoomed.
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To rejoice in life, to find the world beautiful ... was a mark of the Greek spirit.
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Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom.
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So far, we do not seem appalled at the prospect of exactly the same kind of education being applied to all the school children from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but there is an uneasiness in the air, a realization that the individual is growing less easy to find; an idea, perhaps, of what standardization might become when the units are not machines, but human beings.
Edith HamiltonRead
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