“For top of judgment doth not vail itself,
Because the fire of love fulfils at once
What he must satisfy who here installs him.”

“As much as is iron, so much is fire;
And as much as is fire, so much is iron;
Yet the iron doth not become fire,
Nor the fire iron,
But each retains its substance and nature.
So likewise the spirit of man doth not become God,
But is deified,
And knows itself breadth, length, height and depth:
And as far as God is God,
So far the loving spirit is made one with Him
In love.”

“The Love of God is a consuming Fire,
Which draws us out of ourselves
And swallows us up in unity with God,
Where we are satisfied and overflowing,
And with Him, beyond ourselves,
Eternally fulfilled.”

“As the fire doth mount upwards, and the needle that is touched with the loadstone still turneth to the north, so the converted soul is inclined to God. Nothing else can satisfy him, nor can he find any content and rest but in his love. In a word, all that are converted do esteem and love God better than all the world; and the heavenly felicity is dearer to them than their fleshly prosperity.”

“He that loves a rosy cheek,
Or a coral lip admires,
Or from star-like eyes doth seek
Fuel to maintain his fires,—
As old Time makes these decay,
So his flames must waste away.”

“Can he love her? Can the soul really be satisfied with such polite affections? To love is to burn - to be on fire, like Juliet or Guinevere or Eloise…”

“Chinese tend to love moderation because of their temperament. If you said, for example, the room is so dim that there is an window to be installed here, no one would agree. But if you intended to dismantle the roof, they would come to mediate and therefore would agree to install a window.”

“No one who ever wants praise will be satisfied with praise, the person who wants love cannot be satisfied with love. No want is ever fulfilled. And therefore I still don't know whether it is better to fear God and keep His commandments or to curse God and die.”

“The sea is fulfilled, and the Empire fell apart.
Lord, Portugal must yet fulfill itself!”

“For nothing is more fulfilling than love itself”