“A wise lover values not so much the gift of the lover as the love of the giver.”

“There is no word for the recipient of the love. There is only a word for the giver. There is the assumption that lovers come in pairs.”

“The value and quality of any love is determined solely by the lover himself.”

“There was never proud man thought so absurdly well of himself, as the lover doth of the person loved; and therefore it was well said, That it is impossible to love, and to be wise.”

“lover, n.Oh, how I hated this word. So pretentious, like it was always being translated from the French. The tint and taint of illicit, illegitimate affections. Dictionary meaning: a person having a love affair. Impermanent. Unfamilial. Inextricably linked to sex.I have never wanted a lover. In order to have a lover, I must go back to the root of the word. For I have never wanted a lover, but I have always wanted lover, and to be loved.There is no word for the recipient of the love. There is only a word for the giver. There is the assumption that lovers come in pairs.When I say, Be my lover, I don't mean, Let's have an affair. I don't mean Sleep with me. I don't mean, Be my secret.I want us to go back to that root.I want you to be the one who loves me.I want to be the one who loves you.”

“Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe. There is no gift for the beloved. The lover alone possesses his gift of love. The loved one is shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye.”