--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Talk not of wasted affection - affection…" description: "\"Talk not of wasted affection - affection never was wasted.\" — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_affection_talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-n_1048160.jpg" --- # Talk not of wasted affection - affection never was wasted. ![“Talk not of wasted affection - affection never was wasted.” quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_affection_talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-n_1048160.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_affection_talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-n_1048160.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_affection_talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-n_1048160.jpg) > “Talk not of wasted affection - affection never was wasted.” [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Affection, even if unreciprocated, is never truly wasted because it reflects the giver's capacity to care. **In simple terms:** Love given is never wasted. Key Takeaway Value and, regardless of return. Themes love generosity self‑worth Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - personal growth - self‑acceptance Key Concepts emotional investment unreciprocated affection Questions to Reflect On - Do you cherish love you give even if not returned? - How does giving love shape your identity? A Different Perspective Even unreturned love can cause emotional pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) ## Related quotes > [Talk not of wasted affection, affection never was wasted; If it enrich not the heart of another, its waters, returning Back to their springs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-never-was-wasted-if-it-enrich/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [You've got 3 minutes to tell the world something. Are you going to talk to them about being wasted in your front yard because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-slade/you-ve-got-3-minutes-to-tell-the-world-something-are-you-going-to/) Isaac Slade > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [Life always lie between ego n affection.. Affection - lets say sry. but Ego - let them say sry.. Identify the difference n u…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-always-lie-between-ego-n-affection-affection-lets-say-sry-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Affection would not be affection if it was loudly and frequently expressed; to produce it in public is like getting your household furniture out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/affection-would-not-be-affection-if-it-was-loudly-and-frequently/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What I have called Appreciative love is no basic element in Affection. It usually needs absence or bereavement to set us praising those to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/what-i-have-called-appreciative-love-is-no-basic-element-in-affection/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Just like cars need gasoline, a woman needs affection. Affection is not sex. Its not expensive, it just takes thoughts. ª](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/just-like-cars-need-gasoline-a-woman-needs-affection-affection-is-not/) [Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/) > [“Not that the clear perception of certain weaknesses in those whom we love in any way diminishes our affection for them; rather that affection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/not-that-the-clear-perception-of-certain-weaknesses-in-those-whom-we/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Somebody with direction (direction), somebody with affection (affection), that knows how to put it on me, that's what I need (that's what I need).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mya/somebody-with-direction-direction-somebody-with-affection-affection/) [Mya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mya/) > [“For example, two people might be cooking the same meal and using exactly the same ingredients, but one is pouring Love into what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/for-example-two-people-might-be-cooking-the-same-meal-and-using/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“To be sensitively aware of thought, of feeling, of the world about you, of your office and of nature, is to explode from moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-krishnamurti/to-be-sensitively-aware-of-thought-of-feeling-of-the-world-about-you/) [J. Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-krishnamurti/) > [Love is exaggerated affection; affection is unexaggerated love! Always be sober in everything!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/love-is-exaggerated-affection-affection-is-unexaggerated-love-always/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I have an affection for a great city. I feel safe in the neighborhood of man, and enjoy the sweet security of the streets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/i-have-an-affection-for-a-great-city-i-feel-safe-in-the-neighborhood/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [When love is pure, it has the power to conquer. Lover and beloved conquer each other by their affection. The source, the essence, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radhanath-swami/when-love-is-pure-it-has-the-power-to-conquer-lover-and-beloved/) [Radhanath Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radhanath-swami/) > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) ## More by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow > [The spring came suddenly, bursting upon the world as a child bursts into a room, with a laugh and a shout and hands full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-spring-came-suddenly-bursting-upon-the-world-as-a-child-bursts/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [In old age our bodies are worn-out instruments, on which the soul tries in vain to play the melodies of youth. But because the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/in-old-age-our-bodies-are-worn-out-instruments-on-which-the-soul/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“ Endymion The rising moon has hid the stars; Her level rays, like golden bars, Lie on the landscape green, With shadows brown between.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/endymion-the-rising-moon-has-hid-the-stars-her-level-rays-like-golden/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [There's nothing fair nor beautiful, but takes Something from thee, that makes it beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/there-s-nothing-fair-nor-beautiful-but-takes-something-from-thee-that/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Fame comes only when deserved, and then is as inevitable as destiny, for it is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/fame-comes-only-when-deserved-and-then-is-as-inevitable-as-destiny/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Nature paints not; In oils, but frescoes the great dome of heaven; With sunsets, and the lovely forms of clouds; And flying vapors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/nature-paints-not-in-oils-but-frescoes-the-great-dome-of-heaven-with/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“  Thus dwelt together in love these simple Acadian farmers,—   Dwelt in the love of God and of man. Alike were they free from   Fear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/thus-dwelt-together-in-love-these-simple-acadian-farmers-dwelt-in-the/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [The trees are white with dust, that o'er their sleep Wave their broad curtains in the south-wind's breath, While underneath such leafy tents they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-trees-are-white-with-dust-that-o-er-their-sleep-wave-their-broad/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight but, while their companions slept, they were toiling upward in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/heights-by-great-men-reached-and-kept-were-not-obtained-by-sudden/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [All things come round to him who will but wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/all-things-come-round-to-him-who-will-but-wait/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Ah, how skillful grows the hand That obeyeth Love's command! It is the heart, and not the brain, That to the highest doth attain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/ah-how-skillful-grows-the-hand-that-obeyeth-love-s-command-it-is-the/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Thus departed Hiawatha, Hiawatha the Beloved, In the glory of the sunset, In the purple mists of evening, To the regions of the home-wind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/thus-departed-hiawatha-hiawatha-the-beloved-in-the-glory-of-the/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Books are sepulchres of thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/books-are-sepulchres-of-thought/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Morality without religion is only a kind of dead reckoning - an endeavor to find our place on a cloudy sea by measuring the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/morality-without-religion-is-only-a-kind-of-dead-reckoning-an/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [Buried was the bloody hatchet; Buried was the dreadful war-club; Buried were all warlike weapons, And the war-cry was forgotten. Then was peace among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/buried-was-the-bloody-hatchet-buried-was-the-dreadful-war-club-buried/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) [Explore all 755 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Talk not of wasted affection - affection never was wasted.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-never-was-wasted/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affection" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-never-was-wasted/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_affection_talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-n_1048160.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_affection_talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-n_1048160.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c5/henry-wadsworth-longfellow-284_affection_talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-n_1048160.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Talk not of wasted affection - affection never was wasted.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow", "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": "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Talk not of wasted affection -...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-never-was-wasted/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/talk-not-of-wasted-affection-affection-never-was-wasted/#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 } } ] } ```