One must learn to love.— This is what happens to us in…
““One must learn to love.— This is what happens to us in music: first one has to learn to hear a figure and melody at all, to detect and distinguish it, to isolate it and delimit it as a separate life; then it requires some exertion and good will to tolerate it in spite of its strangeness, to be patient with its appearance and expression, and kindhearted about its oddity:—finally there comes a moment when we are used to it, when we wait for it, when we sense that we should miss it if it were missing: and now it continues to compel and enchant us relentlessly until we have become its humble and enraptured lovers who desire nothing better from the world than it and only it.— But that is what happens to us not only in music: that is how we have learned to love all things that we now love. In the end we are always rewarded for our good will, our patience, fairmindedness, and gentleness with what is strange; gradually, it sheds its veil and turns out to be a new and indescribable beauty:—that is its thanks for our hospitality. Even those who love themselves will have learned it in this way: for there is no other way. Love, too, has to be learned.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Learning to love requires patient listening, acceptance of strangeness, and gradual familiarity that transforms oddity into deep affection.
In simple terms: Love is learned through patience and openness to the unfamiliar.
Key Takeaway
Cultivate patience and openness to embrace new experiences.
Themes
love
patience
growth
music
beauty
Mood
reflective
hopeful
inspirational
Type
philosophical
emotional
When to use this quote
- listening to music
- forming relationships
- adapting to new cultures
- overcoming prejudice
- personal growth
Key Concepts
Aesthetic appreciation
emotional development
transformative learning
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you practice patience with unfamiliar ideas?
- What habits help you move from discomfort to appreciation?
A Different Perspective
May become too passive, missing critical evaluation of harmful influences.