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Of writing many books there is no end;
And I who have written much in prose and verse
For others' uses, will write now for mine,—
Will write my story for my better self,
As when you paint your portrait for a friend,
Who keeps it in a drawer and looks at it
Long after he has ceased to love you, just
To hold together what he was and is.

— Elizabeth Barrett Browning Aurora Leigh (1857)

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More quotes by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life!—and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850)

There Shakespeare, on whose forehead climb
The crowns o’ the world; oh, eyes sublime
With tears and laughter for all time!

Poems (1844)

If thou must love me, let it be for nought
Except for love's sake only.

Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850)

Thou large-brained woman and large-hearted man.

Poems (1844)

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850)

All Elizabeth Barrett Browning quotes →

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Elizabeth Barrett Browning (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.