---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Absense diminishes small loves and…"
description: "\"“Absense diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and blows up the bonfire.”\" — Francois De La Rochefoucault"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/francois-de-la-rochefoucault-7_bonfire_absense-diminishes-small-loves-and-incre_2931592.jpg"
---

#  Absense diminishes small loves and increases great ones…

![“Absense diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and blows up the bonfire.” quote by Francois De La Rochefoucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/francois-de-la-rochefoucault-7_bonfire_absense-diminishes-small-loves-and-incre_2931592.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/francois-de-la-rochefoucault-7_bonfire_absense-diminishes-small-loves-and-incre_2931592.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/francois-de-la-rochefoucault-7_bonfire_absense-diminishes-small-loves-and-incre_2931592.jpg)

> ““Absense diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and blows up the bonfire.””

Francois De La Rochefoucault

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Absence diminishes small loves but intensifies great ones, likened to wind extinguishing a candle yet fueling a bonfire.

**In simple terms:** Small love fades, great love grows with distance.

Key Takeaway

love;distance;growth

Themes

philosophy poetry relationship dynamics

Mood

philosophical literary

Type

Bonfire:1 Love:1 Blows Candle:0 Candle Blows:0 Blows Bonfire:0 Absense Diminishes:0

When to use this quote

- Metaphor may be too abstract for some.

Key Concepts

long‑distance relationships grief counseling creative writing

Questions to Reflect On

- melancholic
- inspiring

A Different Perspective

How does distance affect your relationships?;What fuels your greatest passions?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/)

## Related quotes

> [Absence diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and blows up the bonfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/absence-diminishes-small-loves-and-increases-great-ones-as-the-wind-2/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Absence extinguishes small passions and increases great ones, as the wind blows out a candle, and blows in a fire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-la-rochefoucauld/absence-extinguishes-small-passions-and-increases-great-ones-as-the/)

[Francois La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [“Absence diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and fans the bonfire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-duc-de-la-rochefoucauld/absence-diminishes-small-loves-and-increases-great-ones-as-the-wind/)

[Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-duc-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [“Misery is to happiness as cold is to heat- it rushes through the cracks and blows out the candle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-i-carswell/misery-is-to-happiness-as-cold-is-to-heat-it-rushes-through-the/)

John I. Carswell

> [Absence abates a moderate passion and intensifies a great one - as the wind blows out a candle but fans fire into flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/absence-abates-a-moderate-passion-and-intensifies-a-great-one-as-the/)

[Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [There's a very big part of me that just wants to take all of comics history and toss it on the bonfire. I'd sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/there-s-a-very-big-part-of-me-that-just-wants-to-take-all-of-comics/)

[Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/)

> [I remember the noise of the bells ringing at school as the effigy of Guy Fawkes we'd prepared earlier was carried out on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pippa-middleton/i-remember-the-noise-of-the-bells-ringing-at-school-as-the-effigy-of/)

[Pippa Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pippa-middleton/)

> [Marco moves to close the distance between them, kissing away her tears before catching her lip with his own. As he kisses her, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/marco-moves-to-close-the-distance-between-them-kissing-away-her-tears/)

[Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/)

> [“The dog sniffed at the bonfire like a ship with a wet nose docking at a foreign port." -Mgru”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-moles/the-dog-sniffed-at-the-bonfire-like-a-ship-with-a-wet-nose-docking-at/)

Stephen Moles

> [Spring is strictly sentimental, self-regarding; but I burn more careless in the autumn bonfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/spring-is-strictly-sentimental-self-regarding-but-i-burn-more/)

[Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/)

> [A word does not say anything And at the same time it hides everything Just as the wind that hides the water Like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-varela/a-word-does-not-say-anything-and-at-the-same-time-it-hides-everything/)

Carlos Varela

> [I am quite prepared, if we can do it without any disrespect to the Crown of England, to bring our titles to the marketplace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-laurier/i-am-quite-prepared-if-we-can-do-it-without-any-disrespect-to-the/)

[Wilfrid Laurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-laurier/)

> [Emeth came walking forward into the open strip of grass between the bonfire and the Stable. His eyes were shining, his face was solemn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/emeth-came-walking-forward-into-the-open-strip-of-grass-between-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Talk about insanity. Being attracted to deVries was like a moth saying, "Hey, let's go check out that awesome bonfire".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherise-sinclair/talk-about-insanity-being-attracted-to-devries-was-like-a-moth-saying/)

[cherise sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherise-sinclair/)

> [“It wasn’t that she necessarily wanted to “socialize” at the bonfire, but she wanted to broadcast to the general population that her antisocial behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/it-wasn-t-that-she-necessarily-wanted-to-socialize-at-the-bonfire-but/)

[J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/)

## More by Francois De La Rochefoucault

> [“We are often more treacherous through weakness than calculation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucault/we-are-often-more-treacherous-through-weakness-than-calculation/)

Francois De La Rochefoucault

Explore all 2 Francois De La Rochefoucault quotes

## More Bonfire quotes

> [“It wasn’t that she necessarily wanted to “socialize” at the bonfire, but she wanted to broadcast to the general population that her antisocial behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-stroube/it-wasn-t-that-she-necessarily-wanted-to-socialize-at-the-bonfire-but/)

[J.D. Stroube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-stroube/)

> [“Talk about insanity. Being attracted to deVries was like a moth saying, "Hey, let's go check out that awesome bonfire".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherise-sinclair/talk-about-insanity-being-attracted-to-devries-was-like-a-moth-saying/)

[cherise sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherise-sinclair/)

> [Emeth came walking forward into the open strip of grass between the bonfire and the Stable. His eyes were shining, his face was solemn,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/emeth-came-walking-forward-into-the-open-strip-of-grass-between-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I am quite prepared, if we can do it without any disrespect to the Crown of England, to bring our titles to the marketplace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-laurier/i-am-quite-prepared-if-we-can-do-it-without-any-disrespect-to-the/)

[Wilfrid Laurier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-laurier/)

> [“Absence diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and fans the bonfire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-duc-de-la-rochefoucauld/absence-diminishes-small-loves-and-increases-great-ones-as-the-wind/)

[Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-duc-de-la-rochefoucauld/)

> [A word does not say anything And at the same time it hides everything Just as the wind that hides the water Like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-varela/a-word-does-not-say-anything-and-at-the-same-time-it-hides-everything/)

Carlos Varela

> [Spring is strictly sentimental, self-regarding; but I burn more careless in the autumn bonfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/spring-is-strictly-sentimental-self-regarding-but-i-burn-more/)

[Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/)

> [“The dog sniffed at the bonfire like a ship with a wet nose docking at a foreign port." -Mgru”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-moles/the-dog-sniffed-at-the-bonfire-like-a-ship-with-a-wet-nose-docking-at/)

Stephen Moles

> [Marco moves to close the distance between them, kissing away her tears before catching her lip with his own. As he kisses her, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/marco-moves-to-close-the-distance-between-them-kissing-away-her-tears/)

[Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/)

> [I remember the noise of the bells ringing at school as the effigy of Guy Fawkes we'd prepared earlier was carried out on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pippa-middleton/i-remember-the-noise-of-the-bells-ringing-at-school-as-the-effigy-of/)

[Pippa Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pippa-middleton/)

> [There's a very big part of me that just wants to take all of comics history and toss it on the bonfire. I'd sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mccloud/there-s-a-very-big-part-of-me-that-just-wants-to-take-all-of-comics/)

[Scott McCloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mccloud/)

> [“This is joy's bonfire, then, where love's strong arts Make of so noble individual parts One fire of four inflaming eyes, and of two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/this-is-joy-s-bonfire-then-where-love-s-strong-arts-make-of-so-noble/)

[John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/)

> [A woman isn't all that different from a bonfire. A fire's a beautiful thing, right? Something you can't take your eyes off, when it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/a-woman-isn-t-all-that-different-from-a-bonfire-a-fire-s-a-beautiful/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [The bigger you build the bonfire, the more darkness is revealed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-bigger-you-build-the-bonfire-the-more-darkness-is-revealed/)

[Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/)

> [Everyone knows how to love,because we are all born with that gift.Some people have a natural talent for it but the majority of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/everyone-knows-how-to-love-because-we-are-all-born-with-that-gift/)

[Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/)

Browse all 109 Bonfire quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Absense diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and blows up the bonfire.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Francois De La Rochefoucault"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucault/absense-diminishes-small-loves-and-increases-great-ones-as-the-wind/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bonfire"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucault/absense-diminishes-small-loves-and-increases-great-ones-as-the-wind/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/francois-de-la-rochefoucault-7_bonfire_absense-diminishes-small-loves-and-incre_2931592.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/francois-de-la-rochefoucault-7_bonfire_absense-diminishes-small-loves-and-incre_2931592.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/335/francois-de-la-rochefoucault-7_bonfire_absense-diminishes-small-loves-and-incre_2931592.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Absense diminishes small loves and increases great ones, as the wind blows out the candle and blows up the…” — Francois De La Rochefoucault",
                "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": "Francois De La Rochefoucault",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucault/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Absense diminishes small loves and increases...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucault/absense-diminishes-small-loves-and-increases-great-ones-as-the-wind/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucault/absense-diminishes-small-loves-and-increases-great-ones-as-the-wind/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
