From the sixth book, "The Book of the Lover"
The Pillow Book
“It may seem fanciful, but to me the violet is the very emblem of woman's love; it springs up in secret; it hides its perfume even when gathered; how timidly its deep blue leaves bend on their slight stem! The resemblance may be carried yet further — woman's love is but beautiful in its purity; let the hot breath of passion once sully it, and its beauty is departed — thus as the summer advances, the violet loses its fragrance; June comes, but its odours are fled — the heart too has its June; the flower may remain, but its fragrance is gone for ever.”
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Letitia Elizabeth Landon 785
English poet and novelist 1802–1838Related quotes
Quotations from Gurudev’s teachings, Chinmya Mission Chicago
Roland's Tower
The Improvisatrice (1824)
“Love has, at its best, made the inherent sadness of life bearable, and its beauty manifest.”
Source: An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness
“Love is its own rescue; for we, at our supremest, are but its trembling emblems.”