Skip to content

The fact is that love is of two kinds — one which commands, and one which obeys. The two are quite distinct, and the passion to which the one gives rise is not the passion of the other.

— Honoré de Balzac Letters of Two Brides (1841)

Il y a deux amours : celui qui commande et celui qui obéit ; ils sont distincts et donnent naissance à deux passions, et l’une n’est pas l’autre.

Original text (French)

Another quote →

Notes from Wikiquote

Part I, ch. XXI

More quotes by Honoré de Balzac

Science is the language of the Temporal world, Love is that of the Spiritual world.

Séraphîta (1835)

The most real of all splendors are not in outward things, they are within us.

Séraphîta (1835)

Clouds signify the veil of the Most High.

Séraphîta (1835)

Tone is light in another shape. In music, instruments perform the functions of the colours employed in painting.

Gambara (1837)

All human power is a compound of time and patience.

All Honoré de Balzac quotes →

Attribution

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