---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Must love be ever treated with…"
description: "\"Must love be ever treated with profaneness as a mere illusion? or with coarseness as a mere impulse? or with fear as a mere disease? or with shame as a..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/harriet-martineau-6736_accidents_must-love-be-ever-treated-with-profanene_3189871.png"
---

#  Must love be ever treated with profaneness as a mere…

![“Must love be ever treated with profaneness as a mere illusion? or with coarseness as a mere impulse? or with fear as a mere disease? or with shame as a mere weakness? or with levity as a mere accident? whereas it is a great mystery and a great necessity, lying at the foundation of human existence…” quote by Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/harriet-martineau-6736_accidents_must-love-be-ever-treated-with-profanene_3189871.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/harriet-martineau-6736_accidents_must-love-be-ever-treated-with-profanene_3189871.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/harriet-martineau-6736_accidents_must-love-be-ever-treated-with-profanene_3189871.png)

> “Must love be ever treated with profaneness as a mere illusion? or with coarseness as a mere impulse? or with fear as a mere disease? or with shame as a mere weakness? or with levity as a mere accident? whereas it is a great mystery and a great necessity, lying at the foundation of human existence, morality, and happiness,--mysterious, universal, inevitable as death.”

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

## 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 a profound mystery essential to morality and happiness, not a mere illusion, impulse, or disease.

**In simple terms:** Love is essential, not trivial.

Key Takeaway

Recognize love’s depth.

Themes

ethics human nature psychology

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- relationships
- education
- policy making
- mental health care

Key Concepts

existentialism moral philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- What does love mean in your life?
- How does love influence moral choices?

A Different Perspective

Love can be misused or misunderstood.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Accidents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Human existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-existence/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Levity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levity/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Shame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shame/) [Weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weakness/)

## Related quotes

> [Even the loveliest dream bears like a blemish its difference from reality, the awareness that what it grants is mere illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/even-the-loveliest-dream-bears-like-a-blemish-its-difference-from/)

[Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/)

> [“Hence we may at once dismiss as easily foreseen but futile objection, “that by our admitting the ideality of space and of time the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/hence-we-may-at-once-dismiss-as-easily-foreseen-but-futile-objection/)

[Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/)

> [But when I faced you in my blank confusion, I realized you weren't wrong, it was a mere illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daft-punk/but-when-i-faced-you-in-my-blank-confusion-i-realized-you-weren-t/)

[Daft Punk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daft-punk/)

> [ “For if we regard space and time as properties that must, as regards their possibility, be found in things in themselves, \[...\] then we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/for-if-we-regard-space-and-time-as-properties-that-must-as-regards/)

[Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/)

> [A system of morality that is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception that has nothing sound in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/a-system-of-morality-that-is-based-on-relative-emotional-values-is-a/)

[Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/)

> [All time is eternal, moving inexorably toward an end which we believe is a result of our actions, but over which our control is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/all-time-is-eternal-moving-inexorably-toward-an-end-which-we-believe/)

[T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/)

> [It is a mere illusion that, above a certain income, the personal desires will be satisfied and leave a wider margin for the generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-a-mere-illusion-that-above-a-certain-income-the-personal/)

[Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/)

> [I have starred in the endless sky, where only clouds can run free, understanding that if will go beyond those clouds, if I conquer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sorin-cerin/i-have-starred-in-the-endless-sky-where-only-clouds-can-run-free/)

[Sorin Cerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sorin-cerin/)

> [A system of morality which is based on relative emotional values is a mere illusion, a thoroughly vulgar conception which has nothing sound in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/socrates/a-system-of-morality-which-is-based-on-relative-emotional-values-is-a/)

[Socrates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/socrates/)

> [“As often happens between people who have chosen different ways, each of them, while rationally justifying the other's activity, despised it in his heart.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/as-often-happens-between-people-who-have-chosen-different-ways-each/)

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

> [“All things, my son, transmute into old age, life diminishes, everything declines, the proliferation of kinds is a mere illusion, and no one knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-g-sebald-2/all-things-my-son-transmute-into-old-age-life-diminishes-everything/)

[W.G. Sebald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-g-sebald-2/)

> [“But only in order to know if you, as you really are now, see yourself as you once were with all the illusions that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-pirandello/but-only-in-order-to-know-if-you-as-you-really-are-now-see-yourself/)

[Luigi Pirandello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-pirandello/)

> [I follow a more easy, and, in my opinion, a wiser course, namely--to inveigh against the levity of the female sex, their fickleness, their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/i-follow-a-more-easy-and-in-my-opinion-a-wiser-course-namely-to/)

[Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/)

> [“I never thought I would see you armed." I was trying for levity. It worked like a lead balloon.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-jensen/i-never-thought-i-would-see-you-armed-i-was-trying-for-levity-it/)

[Melissa Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-jensen/)

> [In my experience sometimes the darker the material that you're doing, the more necessary it is to have some sort of levity around. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-stahl/in-my-experience-sometimes-the-darker-the-material-that-you-re-doing/)

[Nick Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-stahl/)

## More by Harriet Martineau

> [There have been few things in my life which have had a more genial effect on my mind than the possession of a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/there-have-been-few-things-in-my-life-which-have-had-a-more-genial/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [it is a testament to the strength and purity of the democratic sentiment in the country, that the republic has not been overthrown by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/it-is-a-testament-to-the-strength-and-purity-of-the-democratic/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [School is no place of education for any children whatever till their minds are well put in action. This is the work which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/school-is-no-place-of-education-for-any-children-whatever-till-their/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [Authorship has never been with me a matter of choice. I have not done it for amusement, or for money, or for fame, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/authorship-has-never-been-with-me-a-matter-of-choice-i-have-not-done/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [it is the worst humiliation and grievance of the suffering, that they cause suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/it-is-the-worst-humiliation-and-grievance-of-the-suffering-that-they/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [Fidelity to conscience is inconsistent with retiring modesty. If it be so, let the modesty succumb. It can be only a false modesty which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/fidelity-to-conscience-is-inconsistent-with-retiring-modesty-if-it-be/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [I wrote because I could not help it. There was something that I wanted to say, and I said it: that was all. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/i-wrote-because-i-could-not-help-it-there-was-something-that-i-wanted/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [The instruction furnished is not good enough for the youth of such a country ... There is not even any systematic instruction given on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/the-instruction-furnished-is-not-good-enough-for-the-youth-of-such-a/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [ \[I\] wish that the land-tax went a little more according to situation than it does. 'Tis really ridiculous, how one has to pay five… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/i-wish-that-the-land-tax-went-a-little-more-according-to-situation/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [Who is apt, on occasion, to assign a multitude of reasons when one will do? This is a sure sign of weakness in argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/who-is-apt-on-occasion-to-assign-a-multitude-of-reasons-when-one-will/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [It is hard to tell which is worse; the wide diffusion of things that are not true, or the suppression of things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/it-is-hard-to-tell-which-is-worse-the-wide-diffusion-of-things-that/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [Religion is a temper, not a pursuit. It is the moral atmosphere in which human beings are to live and move. Men do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/religion-is-a-temper-not-a-pursuit-it-is-the-moral-atmosphere-in/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [Moral excellence has no regard to classes and professions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/moral-excellence-has-no-regard-to-classes-and-professions/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [I want to be a free rover on the breezy common of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/i-want-to-be-a-free-rover-on-the-breezy-common-of-the-universe/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

> [For my own part, I had rather suffer any inconvenience from having to work occasionally in chambers and kitchenthan witness the subservience in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/for-my-own-part-i-had-rather-suffer-any-inconvenience-from-having-to/)

[Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

[Explore all 98 Harriet Martineau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/)

## More Accidents quotes

> [Almost all accidents take place because of human distraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-thrun/almost-all-accidents-take-place-because-of-human-distraction/)

[Sebastian Thrun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-thrun/)

> [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/)

[Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/)

> [No, I think most astronauts recognize that the space shuttle program is very high-risk, and are prepared for accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-ride/no-i-think-most-astronauts-recognize-that-the-space-shuttle-program/)

[Sally Ride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-ride/)

> [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/)

[John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/)

> [The only way to have a funeral is to invite everyone who ever knew the person and just wait for the accident to happen-somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/the-only-way-to-have-a-funeral-is-to-invite-everyone-who-ever-knew/)

[Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/)

> [Good films are not made by accident, nor is good photography. You can have good things happen, on occasion, by accident that can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-willis/good-films-are-not-made-by-accident-nor-is-good-photography-you-can/)

[Gordon Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-willis/)

> [By education I am an Englishman, by views an internationalist, by culture a Muslim and a Hindu only by accident of birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jawaharlal-nehru/by-education-i-am-an-englishman-by-views-an-internationalist-by/)

[Jawaharlal Nehru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jawaharlal-nehru/)

> [I made out with a homeless guy by accident. I had no idea -- he was really tan, he had no shoes on. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-schumer/i-made-out-with-a-homeless-guy-by-accident-i-had-no-idea-he-was/)

[Amy Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-schumer/)

> [Naturally I feel no shame in writing these things because of the time which separates the moment when they are written--when only I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-ernaux/naturally-i-feel-no-shame-in-writing-these-things-because-of-the-time/)

[Annie Ernaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-ernaux/)

> [In a city where you walk around, it's impossible to plan your day and your life as accidents will happen, you'll overhear things, bump…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-schwartzman/in-a-city-where-you-walk-around-it-s-impossible-to-plan-your-day-and/)

[Jason Schwartzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-schwartzman/)

> [I don't think it's by accident that I was first attracted to translating two French women poets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-hacker/i-don-t-think-it-s-by-accident-that-i-was-first-attracted-to/)

[Marilyn Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-hacker/)

> [Despite my mentors advice that I would never go to heaven fishing with a weighted nymph and a float, I took it up. (As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-bishop/despite-my-mentors-advice-that-i-would-never-go-to-heaven-fishing/)

[Tony Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-bishop/)

> [Dont stand outside in a lightning shower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padraig/dont-stand-outside-in-a-lightning-shower/)

[Padraig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padraig/)

> [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/)

[Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/)

> [My musical career was an accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade-adu/my-musical-career-was-an-accident/)

[Sade Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade-adu/)

[Browse all 1,971 Accidents quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accidents/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Must love be ever treated with profaneness as a mere illusion? or with coarseness as a mere impulse? or with fear as a mere disease? or with shame as a mere weakness? or with levity as a mere accident? whereas it is a great mystery and a great necessity, lying at the foundation of human existence, morality, and happiness,--mysterious, universal, inevitable as death.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Harriet Martineau"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/must-love-be-ever-treated-with-profaneness-as-a-mere-illusion-or-with/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accidents"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/must-love-be-ever-treated-with-profaneness-as-a-mere-illusion-or-with/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/harriet-martineau-6736_accidents_must-love-be-ever-treated-with-profanene_3189871.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/harriet-martineau-6736_accidents_must-love-be-ever-treated-with-profanene_3189871.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/496/harriet-martineau-6736_accidents_must-love-be-ever-treated-with-profanene_3189871.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Must love be ever treated with profaneness as a mere illusion? or with coarseness as a mere impulse? or with…” — Harriet Martineau",
                "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": "Harriet Martineau",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Must love be ever treated with...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/must-love-be-ever-treated-with-profaneness-as-a-mere-illusion-or-with/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/must-love-be-ever-treated-with-profaneness-as-a-mere-illusion-or-with/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
