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And what fastens attention, in the intercourse of life, like any passage betraying affection between two parties? Perhaps we never saw them before, and never shall meet them again. But we see them exchange a glance, or betray a deep emotion, and we are no longer strangers. We understand them, and take the warmest interest in the development of the romance. All mankind love a lover.

Ralph Waldo Emerson#70

LoveConnectionSocialPsychology

About this quote

What does it mean?
The passage describes how brief glances can spark deep connection and romance.
In plain terms
A glance can lead to love.
What can you take from it?
Small moments can ignite lasting relationships.

Where it applies

  • first meetings
  • social gatherings

Putting it to work

  • pay attention to cues
  • be open to intimacy

Questions to consider

  • Why do we romanticize brief encounters?

Another view

Not every glance leads to love; many remain fleeting.

More from Ralph Waldo Emerson

  1. We will walk on our own feet; we will work with our own hands; we will speak our own minds...A nation of men will for the first time exist, because each believ…

    Permalink to quote #69
  2. The ancestor of every action is a thought.

    Permalink to quote #71
  3. Do not yet see, that, if the single man plant himself indomitably on his instincts, and there abide, the huge world will come round to him.

    Permalink to quote #68

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