--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There can be - there ought to be - no…" description: "\"There can be - there ought to be - no medium course; a love-affair is either sober earnest or contemptible folly, if not wickedness: to gossip about it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/dinah-maria-murlock-craik-5329_affair_there-can-be-there-ought-to-be-no-medium_668617.jpg" --- # There can be - there ought to be - no medium course; a… ![“There can be - there ought to be - no medium course; a love-affair is either sober earnest or contemptible folly, if not wickedness: to gossip about it is, in the first instance, intrusive, unkind, or dangerous; in the second, simply silly.” quote by Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/dinah-maria-murlock-craik-5329_affair_there-can-be-there-ought-to-be-no-medium_668617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/dinah-maria-murlock-craik-5329_affair_there-can-be-there-ought-to-be-no-medium_668617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/41d/dinah-maria-murlock-craik-5329_affair_there-can-be-there-ought-to-be-no-medium_668617.jpg) > “There can be - there ought to be - no medium course; a love-affair is either sober earnest or contemptible folly, if not wickedness: to gossip about it is, in the first instance, intrusive, unkind, or dangerous; in the second, simply silly.” [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that relationships are either serious or foolish, and gossip about them is intrusive, unkind, or dangerous, and null **In simple terms:** Love is either serious or foolish; gossip is harmful. Key Takeaway Avoid gossip, respect privacy. Themes relationships communication ethics Mood cautious reflective Type advice observational When to use this quote - friendships - romantic relationships - workplace conversations - social media - family gatherings Key Concepts intimacy social norms reputation privacy Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when to share personal details? - What are the consequences of gossip in your community? A Different Perspective Gossip can sometimes be harmless small, but it often harms trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affair/) [Folly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folly/) [Gossip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love affair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-affair/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [Sober](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sober/) [Wickedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wickedness/) ## Related quotes > [“Nothing human disgusts me unless its unkind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/nothing-human-disgusts-me-unless-its-unkind/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Forgiveness is mental floss! Build the capacity to forgive slowly - start with little unkind acts, otherwise you'll sabotage yourself. 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Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Let every one of us cultivate, in every word that issues from our mouth, absolute truth. 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