---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To an ordinary human being, love means…"
description: "\"To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others.\" — George Orwell"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/george-orwell-57_human-love_to-an-ordinary-human-being-love-means-no_2709700.jpg"
---

#  To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does…

![“To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/george-orwell-57_human-love_to-an-ordinary-human-being-love-means-no_2709700.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/george-orwell-57_human-love_to-an-ordinary-human-being-love-means-no_2709700.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/george-orwell-57_human-love_to-an-ordinary-human-being-love-means-no_2709700.jpg)

> “To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others.”

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

## 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 only meaningful when it involves caring more for some people than others, highlighting selective affection.

**In simple terms:** Love requires preferential care.

Key Takeaway

Recognize and honor chosen bonds.

Themes

love humanity choice ethics

Mood

thoughtful philosophical

Type

ethical reflective

When to use this quote

- family gatherings
- friendship circles
- romantic relationships
- community service

Key Concepts

selectivity value hierarchy emotional investment

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance love for many versus love for few?
- What responsibilities come with loving some more?

A Different Perspective

Selective love can create feelings of exclusion or inequality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Human love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-does/) [Love means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-means/) [Loving People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loving-people/) [Ordinary Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ordinary-human-273208/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [Love is doing what will enthrall the beloved with the greatest and longest joy. What will enthrall the beloved this way is the glory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/love-is-doing-what-will-enthrall-the-beloved-with-the-greatest-and/)

[John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/)

> [I want to show that drama doesn't lie only in blood and destroyed buildings but in daily life, in ordinary human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmila-zbanic/i-want-to-show-that-drama-doesn-t-lie-only-in-blood-and-destroyed/)

[Jasmila Zbanic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmila-zbanic/)

> [Ordinary human concern for human distress does not manifest itself ordinarily in the form of a gun aimed at the wallets and earnings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/ordinary-human-concern-for-human-distress-does-not-manifest-itself/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [If you are a very ordinary human being, nothing affects you, nothing bothers you, and nothing troubles you. That's how I live my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohanlal/if-you-are-a-very-ordinary-human-being-nothing-affects-you-nothing/)

[Mohanlal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohanlal/)

> [Using every means possible to show that, although you're just an ordinary human being, you're far above other mortals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/using-every-means-possible-to-show-that-although-you-re-just-an/)

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

> [War grows out of ordinary human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/war-grows-out-of-ordinary-human-nature/)

[Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/)

> [“There's no such thing as an ordinary human. Do you know, in 900 years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-doctor-matt-smith/there-s-no-such-thing-as-an-ordinary-human-do-you-know-in-900-years/)

[The Doctor Matt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-doctor-matt-smith/)

> [“If I can draw the slightest smile across a single face obliterated by pain, in that act I will have begun to understand the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/if-i-can-draw-the-slightest-smile-across-a-single-face-obliterated-by/)

[Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/)

> [“There is nothing more important than being a man, just a plain, ordinary, human man. I know you think Spartacus is something more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-fast/there-is-nothing-more-important-than-being-a-man-just-a-plain/)

[Howard Fast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-fast/)

> [God has privileged us in Christ Jesus to live above the ordinary human plane of life. Those who want to be ordinary and live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/smith-wigglesworth/god-has-privileged-us-in-christ-jesus-to-live-above-the-ordinary/)

[Smith Wigglesworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/smith-wigglesworth/)

> [I still maintain that an ordinary human being has the right to be horrified by a mangled body seen on an afternoon walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-findley/i-still-maintain-that-an-ordinary-human-being-has-the-right-to-be/)

[Timothy Findley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-findley/)

> [Princes enjoy themselves like children in the company of ordinary human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmond-de-goncourt/princes-enjoy-themselves-like-children-in-the-company-of-ordinary/)

[Edmond de Goncourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmond-de-goncourt/)

> [“As we cannot afford to squander our natural resources of minerals, food, and beauty, so we cannot afford to discard any human resources of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-sayers/as-we-cannot-afford-to-squander-our-natural-resources-of-minerals/)

[Dorothy Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-sayers/)

> [“Any parents are as ordinary human beings as others, making them angels or even more is up to their next generation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandeep-sahajpal/any-parents-are-as-ordinary-human-beings-as-others-making-them-angels/)

[Sandeep Sahajpal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandeep-sahajpal/)

> [“I’m so odd, and I’m so limited, and I’m so different from the ordinary human being—so you say. I have a strong suspicion that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/i-m-so-odd-and-i-m-so-limited-and-i-m-so-different-from-the-ordinary/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

## More by George Orwell

> [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

[Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

## More Human love quotes

> [“The story ends. It was written for several reasons. Nine of them are secrets. The tenth is that one should never cease considering human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-barthelme/the-story-ends-it-was-written-for-several-reasons-nine-of-them-are/)

[Donald Barthelme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-barthelme/)

> [“We may give our human loves the unconditional allegiance which we owe only to God. Then they become gods: then they become demons. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-carroll/we-may-give-our-human-loves-the-unconditional-allegiance-which-we-owe/)

[Lewis Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-carroll/)

> [If your love didn't always contain the possibility of loss, it would be very different from human love as we know it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-solomon/if-your-love-didn-t-always-contain-the-possibility-of-loss-it-would/)

[Andrew Solomon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-solomon/)

> [I like grit, I like love and death, I'm tired of irony. ... A lot of good fiction is sentimental. ... The novelist who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/i-like-grit-i-like-love-and-death-i-m-tired-of-irony-a-lot-of-good/)

[Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/)

> [It costs so much to be a full human being that there are very few who have the Love and the courage to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morris-west/it-costs-so-much-to-be-a-full-human-being-that-there-are-very-few-who/)

[Morris West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morris-west/)

> [The difference between tragedy and comedy is the difference between experience and intuition. In the experience we strive against every condition of our animal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/the-difference-between-tragedy-and-comedy-is-the-difference-between/)

[Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/)

> [“The soul grows through: 1 Humility and self-responsibility, your desire to totally and completely feel all your emotions, and to make it no one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padma-aon-prakasha/the-soul-grows-through-1-humility-and-self-responsibility-your-desire/)

[Padma Aon Prakasha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padma-aon-prakasha/)

> [“Without her, there wouldn't be a me any more. I'm human because I love her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bradley-rede/without-her-there-wouldn-t-be-a-me-any-more-i-m-human-because-i-love/)

[Laura Bradley Rede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bradley-rede/)

> [The more healthy relationships a child has, the more likely he will be to recover from trauma and thrive. Relationships are the agents of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-d-perry/the-more-healthy-relationships-a-child-has-the-more-likely-he-will-be/)

[Bruce D. Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-d-perry/)

> [Cupid is anything but cute. As for handing our hearts, he’s more likely to rip them out. (Julian) But he can make people fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/cupid-is-anything-but-cute-as-for-handing-our-hearts-he-s-more-likely/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [You can love a person dear to you with a human love, but an enemy can only be loved with divine love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/you-can-love-a-person-dear-to-you-with-a-human-love-but-an-enemy-can/)

[Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/)

> [“In humans (and humans alone), sexuality is embodied in desire--in the primordial desire for life-as-relation. That the sex drive serves the vital desire for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christos-yannaras/in-humans-and-humans-alone-sexuality-is-embodied-in-desire-in-the/)

[Christos Yannaras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christos-yannaras/)

> [I will love you if you are stupid, if you slip and fall on your face, if you do the wrong thing, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/i-will-love-you-if-you-are-stupid-if-you-slip-and-fall-on-your-face/)

[Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/)

> [Human love is needing the other one. Divine love is giving to the other one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-levenson/human-love-is-needing-the-other-one-divine-love-is-giving-to-the/)

[Lester Levenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-levenson/)

> [“The limbic connectedness of a working psychotherapy requires uncommon courage. A patient asks to surrender the life he knows and to enter and emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-lewis/the-limbic-connectedness-of-a-working-psychotherapy-requires-uncommon/)

[Thomas Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-lewis/)

[Browse all 243 Human love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-love/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "George Orwell"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-an-ordinary-human-being-love-means-nothing-if-it-does-not-mean/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Human love"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-an-ordinary-human-being-love-means-nothing-if-it-does-not-mean/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/george-orwell-57_human-love_to-an-ordinary-human-being-love-means-no_2709700.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/george-orwell-57_human-love_to-an-ordinary-human-being-love-means-no_2709700.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a85/george-orwell-57_human-love_to-an-ordinary-human-being-love-means-no_2709700.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“To an ordinary human being, love means nothing if it does not mean loving some people more than others.” — George Orwell",
                "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": "George Orwell",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "To an ordinary human being, love...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-an-ordinary-human-being-love-means-nothing-if-it-does-not-mean/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-an-ordinary-human-being-love-means-nothing-if-it-does-not-mean/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
