VIII
Love
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Where is the bar that can close in the gates of love? The gentle teardrops of lovers’ eyes are sure to proclaim its presence.
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Those that love not live only for themselves: as to those that love, their very bones are for others’ occasions.
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They say it is to taste again of love that the soul hath consented once more to be encased in bone.
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Love maketh the heart tender towards all: and tenderness yieldeth that priceless treasure called friendship.
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The blessing of the blessed, they say, is only the reward of a constant love.
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They are fools who say that love is for the righteous alone: for even against the evil-minded love is the only ally for a man.
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Behold how the sun burneth the boneless worm: even so doth Righteousness burn the man that doth not love.
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Behold the man that loveth not: he will know prosperity only when the sapless tree of the desert putteth forth leaves.
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Of what avail is a lovely outside, if love, the soul’s ornament, hath no place in the heart?
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The seat of life is in Love: who hath it not is only a mass of skin-encased bone.