--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love is the only duty that we know." description: "\"Love is the only duty that we know.\" — Ella Wheeler Wilcox" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_duty_love-is-the-only-duty-that-we-know-30221_3022108.png" --- # Love is the only duty that we know. ![“Love is the only duty that we know.” quote by Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_duty_love-is-the-only-duty-that-we-know-30221_3022108.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_duty_love-is-the-only-duty-that-we-know-30221_3022108.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/ella-wheeler-wilcox-1442_duty_love-is-the-only-duty-that-we-know-30221_3022108.png) > “Love is the only duty that we know.” [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love is the sole responsibility we truly understand and must fulfill. **In simple terms:** Love is the only duty we know. Key Takeaway Prioritize love above all. Themes love duty responsibility Mood hopeful thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - family - community service Key Concepts ethical philosophy human connection Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance love with other duties? - Can love be a duty without resentment? A Different Perspective Love may be idealized, ignoring practical obligations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Duty Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty-know-1166107/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-does-231468/) [Love Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-duty-1042359/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) ## Related quotes > [“They always seemed to know everything, but now there is only me, and it seems I know nothing, not even my duty. How can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/they-always-seemed-to-know-everything-but-now-there-is-only-me-and-it/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [“Christian holy duty is to know the Lord Jesus Christ.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/christian-holy-duty-is-to-know-the-lord-jesus-christ/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [When we want to sink a convoy, we send out an observation plane first... Of course, to observe is not its real duty, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-turing/when-we-want-to-sink-a-convoy-we-send-out-an-observation-plane-first/) [Alan Turing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-turing/) > [“How can I do my duty if I do not know where it lies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/how-can-i-do-my-duty-if-i-do-not-know-where-it-lies/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Not only do we have a right to know, we have a duty to know what our Government is doing in our name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/not-only-do-we-have-a-right-to-know-we-have-a-duty-to-know-what-our-2/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [The person who is working on his or her family history fits the description of one who is fulfilling his or her duty. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/the-person-who-is-working-on-his-or-her-family-history-fits-the/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Not only do we have a right to know, we have a duty to know what our Government is doing in our name. 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G. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-holland/) > [Women think of being a man as a gift. It is a duty. Even making love can be a duty. A man has always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/women-think-of-being-a-man-as-a-gift-it-is-a-duty-even-making-love/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [“We do not merely love ourselves more than we love duty; we actually love ourselves more than we love joy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-keith-chesterton/we-do-not-merely-love-ourselves-more-than-we-love-duty-we-actually/) [Gilbert Keith Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-keith-chesterton/) ## More by Ella Wheeler Wilcox > [A day which passed without a poem from my pen I considered lost and misused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/a-day-which-passed-without-a-poem-from-my-pen-i-considered-lost-and/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Talk health. The dreary, never-changing tale Of mortal maladies is worn and stale. You cannot charm, or interest, or please By harping in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/talk-health-the-dreary-never-changing-tale-of-mortal-maladies-is-worn/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Why dost thou shrink from my approach, O Man? Why dost thou ever flee in fear, and cling To my false rival, Life? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/why-dost-thou-shrink-from-my-approach-o-man-why-dost-thou-ever-flee/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [With every rising of the sun Think of your life as just begun. 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The autumn wood robed in its scarlet clothes, The matchless tinting on the royal rose Whose velvet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/all-perfect-things-are-saddening-in-effect-the-autumn-wood-robed-in/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Content is not the pathway to great deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/content-is-not-the-pathway-to-great-deeds/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Don't anticipate the happiness of tomorrow. Discover it today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/don-t-anticipate-the-happiness-of-tomorrow-discover-it-today/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [“And yet I would not be a child again. For surely as the night succeeds the day, So surely will their mirth turn into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/and-yet-i-would-not-be-a-child-again-for-surely-as-the-night-succeeds/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Day's sweetest moments are at dawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/day-s-sweetest-moments-are-at-dawn/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [Oh! not for the great departed, Who formed our country's laws, And not for the bravest-hearted, Who died in freedom's cause, And not for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/oh-not-for-the-great-departed-who-formed-our-country-s-laws-and-not/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) [Explore all 240 Ella Wheeler Wilcox quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) ## More Duty quotes > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Few political debates have been as divisive as the European one. I fought as hard as I could on the Remain side, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/few-political-debates-have-been-as-divisive-as-the-european-one-i/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Is that what they teach you at the convent? That the gods demand the hearts from our bodies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lafevers/is-that-what-they-teach-you-at-the-convent-that-the-gods-demand-the/) [Robin LaFevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lafevers/) > [The less we show our love to a woman, Or please her less, and neglect our duty, The more we trap and ruin her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/the-less-we-show-our-love-to-a-woman-or-please-her-less-and-neglect/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“You have a right to be sad, and a duty to move on. 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