--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I may die of earthly love, or of devotion." description: "\"I may die of earthly love, or of devotion.\" — Arthur Rimbaud" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/arthur-rimbaud-2266_devotion_i-may-die-of-earthly-love-or-of-devotion_2060250.jpg" --- # I may die of earthly love, or of devotion. ![“I may die of earthly love, or of devotion.” quote by Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/arthur-rimbaud-2266_devotion_i-may-die-of-earthly-love-or-of-devotion_2060250.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/arthur-rimbaud-2266_devotion_i-may-die-of-earthly-love-or-of-devotion_2060250.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/arthur-rimbaud-2266_devotion_i-may-die-of-earthly-love-or-of-devotion_2060250.jpg) > “I may die of earthly love, or of devotion.” [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love and devotion can be overwhelming, even fatal. **In simple terms:** Passion can be deadly. Key Takeaway Balance love with self‑care. Themes love devotion danger Mood melancholic intense Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - relationship counseling - creative pursuits - mental health awareness - spiritual practice Key Concepts intensity self‑destruction artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - When does love become harmful? - How can you nurture love healthily? A Different Perspective Intense devotion may lead to loss of self. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Devotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devotion/) [Die Earthly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/die-earthly-3927511/) [Dies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dies/) [Earthly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earthly/) [Earthly Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earthly-love-331919/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Devotion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-devotion-318318/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) ## Related quotes > [“Quick! Aren’t there other ways of living?− To sleep in the midst of wealth is impossible. Wealth has always been public property. Divine love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/quick-aren-t-there-other-ways-of-living-to-sleep-in-the-midst-of/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [Earthly love is a brief and penurious stream, which only flows in spring, with a long summer drought. The change from a burning desert,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/earthly-love-is-a-brief-and-penurious-stream-which-only-flows-in/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Relationship = love + devotion, the latter is rarely found...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/relationship-love-devotion-the-latter-is-rarely-found/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [“I came for the sake of love-devotion; seeing the world, I wept.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirabai/i-came-for-the-sake-of-love-devotion-seeing-the-world-i-wept/) [Mīrābāī](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirabai/) > [I knew nothing but love and devotion when I was growing up. Trust me, it makes everything easier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/i-knew-nothing-but-love-and-devotion-when-i-was-growing-up-trust-me/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [“The elements of love, devotion, loyalty I have found in the words, never found in humans. That is why I never truly loved.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/the-elements-of-love-devotion-loyalty-i-have-found-in-the-words-never/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [Being in deep devotion comes as a surprise the first time, because it is so difficult for people to feel even love, and devotion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-in-deep-devotion-comes-as-a-surprise-the-first-time-because-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self; the heavenly by the love of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/two-cities-have-been-formed-by-two-loves-the-earthly-by-the-love-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Platonic or Divine Love: The boy is so handsome! God has created him so beautifully! Vulgar or Earthly Love: The girl is so hot!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/md-ziaul-haque/platonic-or-divine-love-the-boy-is-so-handsome-god-has-created-him-so/) [Md. Ziaul Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/md-ziaul-haque/) > [“MEDITATION & DEVOTION Most of our life issues and psychological problems occur from a lack of love and devotion. We are searching for love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-dhyan-giten/meditation-devotion-most-of-our-life-issues-and-psychological/) [Swami Dhyan Giten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-dhyan-giten/) > [“Sometimes she worried that her love for Edgar was too strong, a covetous earthly love, a love against God, a love to reclaim lost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lodato/sometimes-she-worried-that-her-love-for-edgar-was-too-strong-a/) [Victor Lodato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lodato/) > [Earthly love… is temporal and slight so that is has to be given again and again in order for us to feel any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/earthly-love-is-temporal-and-slight-so-that-is-has-to-be-given-again/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Give up bearing children and bear hope and love and devotion to those already born.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/give-up-bearing-children-and-bear-hope-and-love-and-devotion-to-those/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is the saints who know what being in love is all about. Earthly love pales by comparison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dubay/it-is-the-saints-who-know-what-being-in-love-is-all-about-earthly/) [Thomas Dubay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dubay/) > [Love can become devotion. Love is the first step; only then can devotion flower. But for us even love is a faraway reality, sex…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-can-become-devotion-love-is-the-first-step-only-then-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Arthur Rimbaud > [Stronger than alcohol, vaster than poetry, Ferment the freckled red bitterness of love!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/stronger-than-alcohol-vaster-than-poetry-ferment-the-freckled-red/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [“My turn now. The story of one of my insanities. For a long time I boasted that I was master of all possible landscapes--…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/my-turn-now-the-story-of-one-of-my-insanities-for-a-long-time-i/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [Eternity. It is the sea mingled with the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/eternity-it-is-the-sea-mingled-with-the-sun/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [“Delivered to oblivion...growing and flowering with incense and weeds to the sullen whine of nasty flies... I loved deserts, burnt out orchards, faded boutiques...I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/delivered-to-oblivion-growing-and-flowering-with-incense-and-weeds-to/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [“I On the calm black water where the stars are sleeping White Ophelia floats like a great lily; Floats very slowly, lying in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/i-on-the-calm-black-water-where-the-stars-are-sleeping-white-ophelia/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [I went out under the sky, Muse! and I was your vassal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/i-went-out-under-the-sky-muse-and-i-was-your-vassal/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [But the problem is to make the soul into a monster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/but-the-problem-is-to-make-the-soul-into-a-monster/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [Love...no such thing. Whatever it is that binds families and married couples together, that's not love. That's stupidity or selfishness or fear. Love doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/love-no-such-thing-whatever-it-is-that-binds-families-and-married/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [Weakness or strength: you exist, that is strength. You don't know where you are going or why you are going, go in everywhere, answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/weakness-or-strength-you-exist-that-is-strength-you-don-t-know-where/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [Oh! If only we were naked now, and free to watch our protruding parts align; To whisper - both of us - in ecstasy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/oh-if-only-we-were-naked-now-and-free-to-watch-our-protruding-parts/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [But, truly, I have wept too much! The Dawns are heartbreaking. Every moon is atrocious and every sun bitter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/but-truly-i-have-wept-too-much-the-dawns-are-heartbreaking-every-moon/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [What an old maid I'm getting to be. lacking the courage to be in love with death!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/what-an-old-maid-i-m-getting-to-be-lacking-the-courage-to-be-in-love/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [“I shall ask forgiveness for having fed on lies. - Farewell ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/i-shall-ask-forgiveness-for-having-fed-on-lies-farewell/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [And I am still alive-what though, my damnation is eternal. A man who deliberately mutilates himself is truly damned, is he not? I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/and-i-am-still-alive-what-though-my-damnation-is-eternal-a-man-who/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) > [. . . be absolute moderne.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/be-absolute-moderne/) [Arthur Rimbaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) [Explore all 148 Arthur Rimbaud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/) ## More Devotion quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Devotion required by the Gita is no soft-hearted effusiveness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/devotion-required-by-the-gita-is-no-soft-hearted-effusiveness/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [In freedom can be found many devotions: a devotion to love, a desire to believe, a willingness to be happy, a perseverance to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-freedom-can-be-found-many-devotions-a-devotion-to-love-a-desire-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can remember coming downstairs before school every day and my mom would be reading her Bible and doing her devotion and praying. Both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-fisher/i-can-remember-coming-downstairs-before-school-every-day-and-my-mom/) [Mike Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-fisher/) > [I have fallen in love with you my angel. I sought nothing of you but only to see that dazzling smile of yours once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-el-hallab/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-you-my-angel-i-sought-nothing-of-you-but/) [Mahmoud El Hallab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-el-hallab/) > [The discipline of daily devotion to God undergirds decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-louis-cole/the-discipline-of-daily-devotion-to-god-undergirds-decisions/) [Edwin Louis Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-louis-cole/) > [I’d never known it was possible to love as he did— with complete devotion yet devoid of promises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/i-d-never-known-it-was-possible-to-love-as-he-did-with-complete/) [Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/) > [Every Holy Mass, heard with devotion, produces in our souls marvelous effects, abundant spiritual and material graces which we, ourselves, do not know...It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pio-of-pietrelcina/every-holy-mass-heard-with-devotion-produces-in-our-souls-marvelous/) [Pio of Pietrelcina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pio-of-pietrelcina/) > [Daily simple, sincere, and mighty prayers lift our lives to a higher spiritual altitude. In our prayers we praise God, give thanks to Him,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/daily-simple-sincere-and-mighty-prayers-lift-our-lives-to-a-higher/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [True love is like religion. It is full of devotion and free of doubt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/true-love-is-like-religion-it-is-full-of-devotion-and-free-of-doubt/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Never despise a drink because it is easy to make and/or uses commercial mixes. Unquestioning devotion to authenticity is, in any department of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/never-despise-a-drink-because-it-is-easy-to-make-and-or-uses/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [“It didn’t break the trance. She wasn’t sure that anything could, and briefly wondered if they’d stay like this until flesh rotted away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashton-morgan/it-didn-t-break-the-trance-she-wasn-t-sure-that-anything-could-and/) [Ashton Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashton-morgan/) > [“Godliness is a devotion to God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/godliness-is-a-devotion-to-god/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Devotion is when your involvement with life is so absolute that you yourself do not matter anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaggi-vasudev/devotion-is-when-your-involvement-with-life-is-so-absolute-that-you/) [Jaggi Vasudev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaggi-vasudev/) > [The general public have a warped view of the speed at which an investigation proceeds. They like to imagine tense conversations going on behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-aaronovitch/the-general-public-have-a-warped-view-of-the-speed-at-which-an/) [Ben Aaronovitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-aaronovitch/) [Browse all 1,481 Devotion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devotion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I may die of earthly love, or of devotion.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Rimbaud" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/i-may-die-of-earthly-love-or-of-devotion/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Devotion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/i-may-die-of-earthly-love-or-of-devotion/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/arthur-rimbaud-2266_devotion_i-may-die-of-earthly-love-or-of-devotion_2060250.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/arthur-rimbaud-2266_devotion_i-may-die-of-earthly-love-or-of-devotion_2060250.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/acd/arthur-rimbaud-2266_devotion_i-may-die-of-earthly-love-or-of-devotion_2060250.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I may die of earthly love, or of devotion.” — Arthur Rimbaud", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arthur Rimbaud", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rimbaud/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I may die of earthly love,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/i-may-die-of-earthly-love-or-of-devotion/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rimbaud/i-may-die-of-earthly-love-or-of-devotion/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```