Absence kills small passions and feeds great ones, like wind on candles and fire.
La Rochefoucauld, Maxims 276
Absence kills small passions and feeds great ones, like wind on candles and fire.
La Rochefoucauld, Maxims 276
What it means
Distance is a test. Weak feelings fade, strong ones grow. If you want to know how much something matters, see what time apart does to it.
The source
"Absence kills small passions and feeds great ones, like wind on candles and fire." La Rochefoucauld said it in Maxims 276. Translated from the original French by Spartan Surfers.
"L'absence diminue les médiocres passions, et augmente les grandes, comme le vent éteint les bougies et allume le feu."Original French, Maxims 276. Text read at gutenberg.org.
Who said it
La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680). French duke and soldier who turned his disappointment with court life into some five hundred razor-sharp maxims about self-love.
Questions
- What does "Absence kills small passions and feeds great ones, like wind on candles and fire." mean?
- Distance is a test. Weak feelings fade, strong ones grow. If you want to know how much something matters, see what time apart does to it.
- Who said "Absence kills small passions and feeds great ones, like wind on candles and fire."?
- La Rochefoucauld (1613–1680). Source: Maxims 276.
- What is the original French?
- L'absence diminue les médiocres passions, et augmente les grandes, comme le vent éteint les bougies et allume le feu. Translated from the original French by Spartan Surfers.
- Is "Absence kills small passions and feeds great ones, like wind on candles and fire." on a shirt?
- Yes. We print it to order on our tees in 6 illustrated looks, from $44, with free US shipping.
Cite this line
"Absence kills small passions and feeds great ones, like wind on candles and fire." (La Rochefoucauld, Maxims 276, translated by Spartan Surfers). https://spartansurfers.com/quotes/absence-kills-small-passions-and-feeds-great-ones
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More from La Rochefoucauld
- We all have strength enough to bear other people's troubles.Maxims 19
- You can't stare at the sun, or at death.Maxims 26
- Everyone complains of their memory. No one of their judgment.Maxims 89
- Hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue.Maxims 218
- True courage is doing unseen what you'd do in front of everyone.Maxims 216
- We have more strength than will.Maxims 30