“Loves that are lost ere they come to birth,
Weeds of the wave, without fruit upon earth.
I lose what I long for, save what I can,
My love, my love, and no love for me!”
Poems and Ballads (1866-89), The Triumph of Time
Context: The loves and hours of the life of a man,
They are swift and sad, being born of the sea.
Hours that rejoice and regret for a span,
Born with a man's breath, mortal as he;
Loves that are lost ere they come to birth,
Weeds of the wave, without fruit upon earth.
I lose what I long for, save what I can,
My love, my love, and no love for me!
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Algernon Charles Swinburne 87
English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic 1837–1909Related quotes
“I loved but once, yet twice I lose my love!”
Roxane, Act 5, Sc. 6
Cyrano de Bergerac (1897)
Source: The Greatest Salesman in the World (1968), Ch. 9 : The Scroll Marked II, p. 59.
Context: Henceforth I will look upon all things with love and I will be born again. I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars. I will welcome happiness because it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness because it opens my soul. I will acknowledge rewards because they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles because they are my challenge.
I will greet this day with love in my heart.
Source: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (1985), Chapter 38, Escape
"Love each man according to his contribution in the struggle. Do not seek friends; seek comrades-in-arms.
The Saviors of God (1923)
Address in Pocatello, Idaho (5 October 1911).
Source: Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo (1972), p. 134.
