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What thing is love?—for (well I wot) love is a thing
It is a prick, it is a sting,
It is a pretty, pretty thing;
It is a fire, it is a coal,
Whose flame creeps in at every hole!

— George Peele The Hunting of Cupid (1591)

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Love

More quotes by George Peele

Villain, a horse--
Villain, I say, give me a horse to fly,
To swim the river, villain, and to fly.

His Helmet now, shall make a hive for Bees.

My merry, merry, merry roundelay
Concludes with Cupid’s curse:
They that do change old love for new,
Pray gods, they change for worse!

His golden locks time hath to silver turned;
O time too swift! O swiftness never ceasing!
His youth ’gainst time and age hath ever spurned,
But spurned in vain; youth waneth by encreasing.

Polyhymnia (1590)

His helmet now shall make a hive for bees,
And lovers’ songs be turned to holy psalms;
A man-at-arms must now serve on his knees,
And feed on prayers, which are old age’s alms.

Polyhymnia (1590)

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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: George Peele (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.