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We are not built to comprehend a lie,
We can neither love nor pity nor forgive,
If you make a slip in handling us you die!

— Rudyard Kipling

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Love

More quotes by Rudyard Kipling

Asia is not going to be civilised after the methods of the West. There is too much Asia and she is too old.

The Man Who Was (1891)

It takes a great deal of Christianity to wipe out uncivilized Eastern instincts, such as falling in love at first sight.

Plain Tales from the Hills (1888)

God gave all men all earth to love,
But since our hearts are small,
Ordained for each one spot should prove
Belovèd over all.

Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind.

Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky;
And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die.

The Second Jungle Book (1895)

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Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind.

William Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream (1595)

To fear love is to fear life, and those who fear life are already three parts dead.

Bertrand Russell Marriage and Morals (1929)

Not for the body, but for the heart; companion and company are needed.

Sanu Sharma

Love seldom haunts the breast where learning lies,
And Venus sets ere Mercury can rise.

Alexander Pope

Attribution

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