--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: These things cannot be loved. The best…" description: "\"“These things cannot be loved. The best man hates them most; the worst man cannot love them. But are these the man? Does a woman bear that form in virt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/george-macdonald-295_best-man_these-things-cannot-be-loved-the-best-ma_1663929.jpg" --- # These things cannot be loved. The best man hates them… ![“These things cannot be loved. The best man hates them most; the worst man cannot love them. But are these the man? Does a woman bear that form in virtue of these? Lies there not within the man and the woman a divine element of brotherhood, of sisterhood, a something lovely and lovable,—slowly…” quote by George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/george-macdonald-295_best-man_these-things-cannot-be-loved-the-best-ma_1663929.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/george-macdonald-295_best-man_these-things-cannot-be-loved-the-best-ma_1663929.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/george-macdonald-295_best-man_these-things-cannot-be-loved-the-best-ma_1663929.jpg) > ““These things cannot be loved. The best man hates them most; the worst man cannot love them. But are these the man? Does a woman bear that form in virtue of these? Lies there not within the man and the woman a divine element of brotherhood, of sisterhood, a something lovely and lovable,—slowly fading, it may be,—dying away under the fierce heat of vile passions, or the yet more fearful cold of sepulchral selfishness—but there? Shall that divine something, which, once awakened to be its own holy self in the man, will loathe these unlovely things tenfold more than we loathe them now—shall this divine thing have no recognition from us? It is the very presence of this fading humanity that makes it possible for us to hate. If it were an animal only, and not a man or a woman that did us hurt, we should not hate: we should only kill. We hate the man just because we are prevented from loving him. We push over the verge of the creation—we damn—just because we cannot embrace. For to embrace is the necessity of our deepest being. That foiled, we hate. Instead of admonishing ourselves that there is our enchained brother, that there lies our enchanted, disfigured, scarce recognizable sister, captive of the devil, to break, how much sooner, from their bonds, that we love them!—we recoil into the hate which would fix them there; and the dearly lovable reality of them we sacrifice to the outer falsehood of Satan's incantations, thus leaving them to perish. Nay, we murder them to get rid of them, we hate them. Yet within the most obnoxious to our hate, lies that which, could it but show itself as it is, and as it will show itself one day, would compel from our hearts a devotion of love. It is not the unfriendly, the unlovely, that we are told to love, but the brother, the sister, who is unkind, who is unlovely. Shall we leave our brother to his desolate fate? Shall we not rather say, "With my love at least shalt thou be compassed about, for thou hast not thy own lovingness to infold thee; love shall come as near thee as it may; and when thine comes forth to meet mine, we shall be one in the indwelling God"?”” [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human hatred arises when we cannot love the divine spark within others, leading to violence instead of compassion. **In simple terms:** Hate replaces love when we ignore shared humanity. Key Takeaway Recognize and nurture the divine within others. Themes compassion humanity violence spirituality Mood reflective somber hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal relationships - conflict resolution - social justice - mental health - spiritual practice Key Concepts Divine spark otherness empathy Questions to Reflect On - How can we see the divine in those we despise? - What practices help transform hate into love? A Different Perspective Human nature can resist recognizing shared divinity, making love difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-man/) [Brotherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brotherhood/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [“Four years into her marriage, Sera had woken up one morning to feel something hot and sticky in the back of her throat. 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No, I don't That would be to take it from somebody else. But it's mine for all… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/i-wish-i-had-made-that-song-no-i-don-t-that-would-be-to-take-it-from/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Past tears are present strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/past-tears-are-present-strength/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling, of the fresh life within, that withers and bursts the husk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/age-is-not-all-decay-it-is-the-ripening-the-swelling-of-the-fresh/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [I want to help you grow as beautiful as God meant you to be when he thought of you first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/i-want-to-help-you-grow-as-beautiful-as-god-meant-you-to-be-when-he/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [“Immeasurably imperfect it was, but false the impression could not be, for she saw with the eyes made for seeing, and saw indeed what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/immeasurably-imperfect-it-was-but-false-the-impression-could-not-be/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Those that hope little cannot grow much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/those-that-hope-little-cannot-grow-much/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) [Explore all 720 George MacDonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) ## More Best man quotes > [“Instantly, I was overwhelmed with gratitude. 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After 26 years of success in the game, we all owe him a tribute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-kompany/sir-alex-one-of-the-best-managers-of-all-time-after-26-years-of/) [Vincent Kompany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-kompany/) [Browse all 304 Best man quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-man/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“These things cannot be loved. The best man hates them most; the worst man cannot love them. But are these the man? Does a woman bear that form in virtue of these? Lies there not within the man and the woman a divine element of brotherhood, of sisterhood, a something lovely and lovable,—slowly fading, it may be,—dying away under the fierce heat of vile passions, or the yet more fearful cold of sepulchral selfishness—but there? Shall that divine something, which, once awakened to be its own holy self in the man, will loathe these unlovely things tenfold more than we loathe them now—shall this divine thing have no recognition from us? It is the very presence of this fading humanity that makes it possible for us to hate. If it were an animal only, and not a man or a woman that did us hurt, we should not hate: we should only kill. We hate the man just because we are prevented from loving him. We push over the verge of the creation—we damn—just because we cannot embrace. For to embrace is the necessity of our deepest being. That foiled, we hate. Instead of admonishing ourselves that there is our enchained brother, that there lies our enchanted, disfigured, scarce recognizable sister, captive of the devil, to break, how much sooner, from their bonds, that we love them!—we recoil into the hate which would fix them there; and the dearly lovable reality of them we sacrifice to the outer falsehood of Satan's incantations, thus leaving them to perish. Nay, we murder them to get rid of them, we hate them. Yet within the most obnoxious to our hate, lies that which, could it but show itself as it is, and as it will show itself one day, would compel from our hearts a devotion of love. It is not the unfriendly, the unlovely, that we are told to love, but the brother, the sister, who is unkind, who is unlovely. Shall we leave our brother to his desolate fate? Shall we not rather say, \"With my love at least shalt thou be compassed about, for thou hast not thy own lovingness to infold thee; love shall come as near thee as it may; and when thine comes forth to meet mine, we shall be one in the indwelling God\"?”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George MacDonald" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/these-things-cannot-be-loved-the-best-man-hates-them-most-the-worst/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Best man" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/these-things-cannot-be-loved-the-best-man-hates-them-most-the-worst/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/george-macdonald-295_best-man_these-things-cannot-be-loved-the-best-ma_1663929.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/george-macdonald-295_best-man_these-things-cannot-be-loved-the-best-ma_1663929.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2a6/george-macdonald-295_best-man_these-things-cannot-be-loved-the-best-ma_1663929.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“These things cannot be loved. 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