--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love and hatred don't take turns; they…" description: "\"Love and hatred don't take turns; they exist side by side at the same time. And one's duty, one's obligation every day, is to choose to follow the nobl..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/jamaica-kincaid-1540_duty_love-and-hatred-don-t-take-turns-they-ex_167649.png" --- # Love and hatred don't take turns; they exist side by side… ![“Love and hatred don't take turns; they exist side by side at the same time. And one's duty, one's obligation every day, is to choose to follow the nobler one.” quote by Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/jamaica-kincaid-1540_duty_love-and-hatred-don-t-take-turns-they-ex_167649.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/jamaica-kincaid-1540_duty_love-and-hatred-don-t-take-turns-they-ex_167649.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9a/jamaica-kincaid-1540_duty_love-and-hatred-don-t-take-turns-they-ex_167649.png) > “Love and hatred don't take turns; they exist side by side at the same time. And one's duty, one's obligation every day, is to choose to follow the nobler one.” [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human emotions of love and hatred coexist, requiring daily conscious choice of the higher path. **In simple terms:** Love and hate exist together; choose the nobler. Key Takeaway Choose kindness over resentment each day. Themes ethics emotion choice Mood reflective determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal relationships - conflict resolution - leadership - spiritual practice Key Concepts morality dualism self‑control Questions to Reflect On - How do you recognize the nobler choice in a heated moment? - What habits help you favor love over hate? A Different Perspective Choosing the nobler path can be socially costly or ambiguous. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred/) [Hatred and love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred-and-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love and hatred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-and-hatred/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Side by side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side-by-side/) ## Related quotes > [One's obligation every day, is to choose to follow the nobler one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/one-s-obligation-every-day-is-to-choose-to-follow-the-nobler-one/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I like to hear songs which can lay it all on, songs which can look at the dark side as well as the bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-capaldi/i-like-to-hear-songs-which-can-lay-it-all-on-songs-which-can-look-at/) [Jim Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-capaldi/) > [Though love and hatred are as opposites as fire and water, yet do they sometimes subsist in the breast together towards the same person;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/though-love-and-hatred-are-as-opposites-as-fire-and-water-yet-do-they/) [Fulke Greville, 1st Baron Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulke-greville-1st-baron-brooke/) > [And then I understood that she had no idea what she'd done to my family. She thought love and hatred were equal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/and-then-i-understood-that-she-had-no-idea-what-she-d-done-to-my/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [As man's love or hatred, so he. Love and hatred exist only personified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/as-man-s-love-or-hatred-so-he-love-and-hatred-exist-only-personified/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [We fluctuate long between love and hatred before we can arrive at tranquillity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heloise/we-fluctuate-long-between-love-and-hatred-before-we-can-arrive-at/) [Heloise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heloise/) > [Love and hatred are not blind, but are blinded by the fire they bear within themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/love-and-hatred-are-not-blind-but-are-blinded-by-the-fire-they-bear/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There are some works which the authors must consign unpublished to posterity, however uncertain be the event, however hopeless be the trust. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-are-some-works-which-the-authors-must-consign-unpublished-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Religion, media and schools tell us to disregard animals, view them as commodities, property and resources, and convince us that animals cannot think clearly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-yourofsky/religion-media-and-schools-tell-us-to-disregard-animals-view-them-as/) [Gary Yourofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-yourofsky/) > [It is an essential part of the interpretive work that it should keep in step with fluctuations between love and hatred, between happiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-klein/it-is-an-essential-part-of-the-interpretive-work-that-it-should-keep/) [Melanie Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-klein/) > [To live one's love and hatred, to live that which one is means defeat, resignation, and death. The crimes of society, the hell that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/to-live-one-s-love-and-hatred-to-live-that-which-one-is-means-defeat/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [I am the beast with a contorted grin, contracting down to illusion and dilating toward infinity, both growing and dying, delightfully suspended between hope…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-the-beast-with-a-contorted-grin-contracting-down-to-illusion-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The path of self-purification is hard and steep. One has to become absolutely passion-free in thought, speech and action to rise above the opposing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/the-path-of-self-purification-is-hard-and-steep-one-has-to-become/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [Could you understand the meaning of light if there were no darkness to point the contrast? Day and night, life and death, love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/could-you-understand-the-meaning-of-light-if-there-were-no-darkness-2/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [Could you understand the meaning of light if there were no darkness to point the contrast? Day and night, life and death, love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/could-you-understand-the-meaning-of-light-if-there-were-no-darkness/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) ## More by Jamaica Kincaid > [I'm always telling my students go to law school or become a doctor, do something, and then write. First of all you should have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-m-always-telling-my-students-go-to-law-school-or-become-a-doctor-do/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [The slave trade was globalism. Why people insist that globalism, after its hideous history, is a good thing, I do not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/the-slave-trade-was-globalism-why-people-insist-that-globalism-after/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I have no credentials. I have no money. I literally come from a poor place. I was a servant. I dropped out of college.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-have-no-credentials-i-have-no-money-i-literally-come-from-a-poor/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [In my writing I'm trying to explore the violations people commit upon each other. And the important thing isn't whether I'm angry. The more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/in-my-writing-i-m-trying-to-explore-the-violations-people-commit-upon/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > ["Race." I really can't understand it as anything other than something people say. The people who have said that you and I are both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/race-i-really-can-t-understand-it-as-anything-other-than-something/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [Race as a subject only comes about because of what I look like. If I say something truthfully, people say "Oh, she's so angry."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/race-as-a-subject-only-comes-about-because-of-what-i-look-like-if-i/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [in the place I am from ... a grave is topped off with a huge mound of loose earth - carelessly, as if piled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/in-the-place-i-am-from-a-grave-is-topped-off-with-a-huge-mound-of/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I like melancholy. I like to pretend that I'm alone in the world and I'm just sort of abandoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-like-melancholy-i-like-to-pretend-that-i-m-alone-in-the-world-and-i/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I come from the small island of Antigua and I always wanted to write; I just didn't know that it was possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-come-from-the-small-island-of-antigua-and-i-always-wanted-to-write/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“Have you ever wondered to yourself why it is that all people like me seem to have learned from you is how to imprison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/have-you-ever-wondered-to-yourself-why-it-is-that-all-people-like-me/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [“Do you see the queer thing about people like me? Sometimes we hold your retribution.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/do-you-see-the-queer-thing-about-people-like-me-sometimes-we-hold/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [I didn't really understand racism because I grew up in an all-black society, so I didn't see how it was possible not to like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/i-didn-t-really-understand-racism-because-i-grew-up-in-an-all-black/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [A great piece of literature encompasses all that is and all that will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/a-great-piece-of-literature-encompasses-all-that-is-and-all-that-will/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [The people who invented race, who grouped us together as "black," were inventing and categorizing their ability to do something vicious and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/the-people-who-invented-race-who-grouped-us-together-as-black-were/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [The inevitable is no less a shock just because it is inevitable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/the-inevitable-is-no-less-a-shock-just-because-it-is-inevitable/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) [Explore all 228 Jamaica Kincaid quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) ## More Duty quotes > [I pray that wherever we are and whatever duties we have in the priesthood of God, we will be united in the cause to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/i-pray-that-wherever-we-are-and-whatever-duties-we-have-in-the/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [Few political debates have been as divisive as the European one. I fought as hard as I could on the Remain side, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/few-political-debates-have-been-as-divisive-as-the-european-one-i/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Is that what they teach you at the convent? That the gods demand the hearts from our bodies?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-lafevers/is-that-what-they-teach-you-at-the-convent-that-the-gods-demand-the/) [Robin LaFevers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-lafevers/) > [The less we show our love to a woman, Or please her less, and neglect our duty, The more we trap and ruin her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/the-less-we-show-our-love-to-a-woman-or-please-her-less-and-neglect/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [Consideration is the soil in which wisdom may be expected to grow, and strength be given to every up-springing plant of duty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/consideration-is-the-soil-in-which-wisdom-may-be-expected-to-grow-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“You have a right to be sad, and a duty to move on. Only wins who wipes the tears, gather strength and move forward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusto-branco/you-have-a-right-to-be-sad-and-a-duty-to-move-on-only-wins-who-wipes/) [Augusto Branco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusto-branco/) > [Our duty as Christians is always to keep heaven in our eye and earth under our feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-henry/our-duty-as-christians-is-always-to-keep-heaven-in-our-eye-and-earth/) [Matthew Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-henry/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Regardless of how you feel about war and peace those serving military are doing a duty for the rest of us and they're protecting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-cardellini/regardless-of-how-you-feel-about-war-and-peace-those-serving-military/) [Linda Cardellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-cardellini/) > [“Duty is a done deal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/duty-is-a-done-deal/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Politics...You see, it depends on what kind of politics. What we did during my father's generation was a duty. And it was beautiful because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/politics-you-see-it-depends-on-what-kind-of-politics-what-we-did/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [I do not so much rejoice that God hath made me to be a Queen, as to be a Queen over so thankful a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/i-do-not-so-much-rejoice-that-god-hath-made-me-to-be-a-queen-as-to-be/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [The whole duty of man is summed up in obedience to God's will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-whole-duty-of-man-is-summed-up-in-obedience-to-god-s-will/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) [Browse all 5,178 Duty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love and hatred don't take turns; they exist side by side at the same time. 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