--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I dare not always touch her, lest the…" description: "\"“I dare not always touch her, lest the kiss leave my lips charred. Yea, Lord, a little bliss, brief bitter bliss, one hath for a great sin; Nathless th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/algernon-charles-swinburne-291_bitter_i-dare-not-always-touch-her-lest-the-kis_1186785.jpg" --- # I dare not always touch her, lest the kiss leave my lips… ![“I dare not always touch her, lest the kiss leave my lips charred. Yea, Lord, a little bliss, brief bitter bliss, one hath for a great sin; Nathless thou knowest how sweet a thing it is.” quote by Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/algernon-charles-swinburne-291_bitter_i-dare-not-always-touch-her-lest-the-kis_1186785.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/algernon-charles-swinburne-291_bitter_i-dare-not-always-touch-her-lest-the-kis_1186785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97d/algernon-charles-swinburne-291_bitter_i-dare-not-always-touch-her-lest-the-kis_1186785.jpg) > ““I dare not always touch her, lest the kiss leave my lips charred. Yea, Lord, a little bliss, brief bitter bliss, one hath for a great sin; Nathless thou knowest how sweet a thing it is.”” [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker fears intimacy may cause pain, yet seeks fleeting bliss despite moral conflict. **In simple terms:** Intimacy risks pain but offers brief joy. Key Takeaway Balance desire with caution. Themes love desire morality Mood conflicted poetic Type literary emotional When to use this quote - romantic relationships - personal boundaries - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts temptation guilt Questions to Reflect On - What limits do you set for intimacy? - How do you reconcile pleasure with conscience? A Different Perspective Desire can lead to lasting harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Kissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kissing/) [Lips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lips/) [Lord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lord/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) ## Related quotes > [Ignorance is not bliss — it is oblivion. 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Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The artist's experience lies so unbelievably close to the sexual, to its pain and its pleasure, that the two phenomena are really just different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/the-artist-s-experience-lies-so-unbelievably-close-to-the-sexual-to/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Ignorance was bliss. Or at least less painfull”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/ignorance-was-bliss-or-at-least-less-painfull/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) ## More by Algernon Charles Swinburne > [I shall sleep, and move with the moving ships, Change as the winds change, veer in the tide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/i-shall-sleep-and-move-with-the-moving-ships-change-as-the-winds/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [Marvellous mercies and infinite love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/algernon-charles-swinburne/marvellous-mercies-and-infinite-love/) [Algernon Charles Swinburne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/algernon-charles-swinburne/) > [She knows not loves that kissed her She knows not where. 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