--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I WOULD LIKE, to begin with, to say that…" description: "\"“I WOULD LIKE, to begin with, to say that though parents, husbands, children, lovers and friends are all very well, they are not dogs. In my day and tu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/elizabeth-von-arnim-2484_animal_i-would-like-to-begin-with-to-say-that-t_1098169.png" --- # I WOULD LIKE, to begin with, to say that though parents… ![“I WOULD LIKE, to begin with, to say that though parents, husbands, children, lovers and friends are all very well, they are not dogs. In my day and turn having been each of the above,—except that instead of husbands I was wives,—I know what I am talking about, and am well acquainted with the ups…” quote by Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/elizabeth-von-arnim-2484_animal_i-would-like-to-begin-with-to-say-that-t_1098169.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/elizabeth-von-arnim-2484_animal_i-would-like-to-begin-with-to-say-that-t_1098169.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc6/elizabeth-von-arnim-2484_animal_i-would-like-to-begin-with-to-say-that-t_1098169.png) > ““I WOULD LIKE, to begin with, to say that though parents, husbands, children, lovers and friends are all very well, they are not dogs. In my day and turn having been each of the above,—except that instead of husbands I was wives,—I know what I am talking about, and am well acquainted with the ups and downs, the daily ups and downs, the sometimes almost hourly ones in the thin-skinned, which seem inevitably to accompany human loves. Dogs are free from these fluctuations. Once they love, they love steadily, unchangingly, till their last breath. That is how I like to be loved. Therefore I will write of dogs.”” [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer contrasts human relationships, which are volatile, with dogs' steady, unconditional love, expressing a desire for that constancy in being loved. **In simple terms:** Dogs love consistently; humans often fluctuate. Key Takeaway Seek relationships that offer steady, unconditional love. Themes love relationships constancy human nature Mood reflective thoughtful Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - friendship - romantic partnership - family dynamics - pet ownership - therapy animals Key Concepts psychology emotional stability comparative analysis Questions to Reflect On - Can you identify moments of steady love in your life? - What qualities make a relationship feel reliable? A Different Perspective Human love can also be deep and loyal; not all humans are inconsistent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Dogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogs/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Human love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-love/) [Human Loves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-loves-713886/) [Last breath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-breath/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Loves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loves/) [Loves Dogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loves-dogs-1666795/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Ups and downs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ups-and-downs/) [Write Dogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-dogs-2874254/) ## Related quotes > [We may give our human loves the unconditional allegiance which we owe only to God. They they become gods: then they become demons. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-may-give-our-human-loves-the-unconditional-allegiance-which-we-owe-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Good-by, then, old friend. . . . in that wider world of being of which this little Cambridge world of ours forms so infinitesimal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-horn/good-by-then-old-friend-in-that-wider-world-of-being-of-which-this/) [Stacy Horn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-horn/) > [Two human loves make one divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/two-human-loves-make-one-divine/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [I had written a lot about my dog dying before. I wrote a newspaper column about it and it turned out to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-daum/i-had-written-a-lot-about-my-dog-dying-before-i-wrote-a-newspaper/) [Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-daum/) > [I am never going to write about dogs again. You can write about Islam, you can write about sexuality, but no, not dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-am-never-going-to-write-about-dogs-again-you-can-write-about-islam/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [I wanted to write about all my dogs that I know and love and are named after these desserts, and the experiences I've had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-gatto/i-wanted-to-write-about-all-my-dogs-that-i-know-and-love-and-are/) [Joe Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-gatto/) > [“Not everyone loves dogs, but for those who do—and that is about half the people in the United States—their dog’s welfare is intimately tied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-berns/not-everyone-loves-dogs-but-for-those-who-do-and-that-is-about-half/) [Gregory Berns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-berns/) > [I grew up with dogs. My wife really loves dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-scherzer/i-grew-up-with-dogs-my-wife-really-loves-dogs/) [Max Scherzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-scherzer/) > [Everybody loves dogs. They're the pizza of the animal kingdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/everybody-loves-dogs-they-re-the-pizza-of-the-animal-kingdom/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“She loves dogs. And in time, who knows, maybe she would even have ended up loving the type of dogs who eat other small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-finney/she-loves-dogs-and-in-time-who-knows-maybe-she-would-even-have-ended/) [Richard Finney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-finney/) > [I want to be labeled 'a human who loves humans.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raven-symone/i-want-to-be-labeled-a-human-who-loves-humans/) [Raven-Symone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raven-symone/) > [Anyone can love a virtue, but a good human being is he or she who loves even vicious people. Everyone Loves the melodious voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lokendra-singh/anyone-can-love-a-virtue-but-a-good-human-being-is-he-or-she-who/) [Lokendra Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lokendra-singh/) > [“She knows in this moment that he will never falter, never not be there when she needs him, never devolve into a mere fallible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/she-knows-in-this-moment-that-he-will-never-falter-never-not-be-there/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [To the Ancients, Friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves... The modern world in comparison, ignores it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/to-the-ancients-friendship-seemed-the-happiest-and-most-fully-human-2/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being until he loves him. By his love he is enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/no-one-can-become-fully-aware-of-the-very-essence-of-another-human/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) ## More by Elizabeth von Arnim > [“I would have all couples neatly paired in years, the forties with the forties, and the twenties with the twenties. Should the forties, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/i-would-have-all-couples-neatly-paired-in-years-the-forties-with-the/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“When I drive to the lupins and see them all spread out as far as eye can reach in perfect beauty of colour and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/when-i-drive-to-the-lupins-and-see-them-all-spread-out-as-far-as-eye/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [What a blessing it is to love books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/what-a-blessing-it-is-to-love-books/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [It is beautiful, beautiful to give; one of the very most beautiful things in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/it-is-beautiful-beautiful-to-give-one-of-the-very-most-beautiful/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“I asked nothing better of life. I still ask nothing better of life. Strange to say—for surely it is strange not to have increased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/i-asked-nothing-better-of-life-i-still-ask-nothing-better-of-life/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“No one ever said aloud any of the kinds of things he was so constantly thinking, because no one in the parish, not Alice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/no-one-ever-said-aloud-any-of-the-kinds-of-things-he-was-so/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“The only thing to do with one's old sorrows is to tuck them up neatly in their shroud and turn one's face away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/the-only-thing-to-do-with-one-s-old-sorrows-is-to-tuck-them-up-neatly/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“She belongs to the winter that is past, to the darkness that is over, and has no part or lot in the life I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-belongs-to-the-winter-that-is-past-to-the-darkness-that-is-over/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“This radiant weather, when mere living is a joy, and sitting still over the fire out of the question, has been going on for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/this-radiant-weather-when-mere-living-is-a-joy-and-sitting-still-over/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“And when I'm with you," she said, "I feel as if I were stuffed with—oh, with stars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/and-when-i-m-with-you-she-said-i-feel-as-if-i-were-stuffed-with-oh/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“Here was the world wide-awake and yet only for me, all the fresh pure air only for me, all the fragrance breathed only by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/here-was-the-world-wide-awake-and-yet-only-for-me-all-the-fresh-pure/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“... and everybody will have what they never yet have had, a certain amount of that priceless boon, leisure-- leisure to sit down and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/and-everybody-will-have-what-they-never-yet-have-had-a-certain-amount/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [Beauty made you love, and love made you beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/beauty-made-you-love-and-love-made-you-beautiful/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [“Surely the colour of London was an exquisite thing. It was like a pearl that late afternoon, something very gentle and pale, with faint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/surely-the-colour-of-london-was-an-exquisite-thing-it-was-like-a/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) [Explore all 155 Elizabeth von Arnim quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I WOULD LIKE, to begin with, to say that though parents, husbands, children, lovers and friends are all very well, they are not dogs. In my day and turn having been each of the above,—except that instead of husbands I was wives,—I know what I am talking about, and am well acquainted with the ups and downs, the daily ups and downs, the sometimes almost hourly ones in the thin-skinned, which seem inevitably to accompany human loves. Dogs are free from these fluctuations. Once they love, they love steadily, unchangingly, till their last breath. That is how I like to be loved. 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