Nature's lay idiot, I taught thee to love.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Nature created this person as a simpleton until the speaker taught them how to love.
- In plain terms
- He claims he taught a naturally simple person how to love.
- What can you take from it?
- Love is often learned rather than innate.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Is love natural or learned?
- Who taught you to love?
Another view
It assumes love is a skill rather than a feeling.
More from John Donne
Love built on beauty, soon as beauty, dies.
Permalink to quote #50 She, and comparisons are odious.
Permalink to quote #52 Absence, hear thou my protestation Against thy strength, Distance, and length; Do what thou canst for alteration
Permalink to quote #49
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