--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love melts the rigor which the rocks have…" description: "\"Love melts the rigor which the rocks have bred; a flint will break upon a feather bed.\" — John Cleveland" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/john-cleveland-60438_bed_love-melts-the-rigor-which-the-rocks-hav_566258.jpg" --- # Love melts the rigor which the rocks have bred; a flint… ![“Love melts the rigor which the rocks have bred; a flint will break upon a feather bed.” quote by John Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/john-cleveland-60438_bed_love-melts-the-rigor-which-the-rocks-hav_566258.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/john-cleveland-60438_bed_love-melts-the-rigor-which-the-rocks-hav_566258.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f79/john-cleveland-60438_bed_love-melts-the-rigor-which-the-rocks-hav_566258.jpg) > “Love melts the rigor which the rocks have bred; a flint will break upon a feather bed.” [John Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleveland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Harshness softens when gentle forces interact; even the toughest material yields to kindness. **In simple terms:** Kindness can soften rigidity. Key Takeaway Offer compassion to break down resistance. Themes compassion softness strength transformation Mood reflective hopeful Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - personal conflict - leadership - team dynamics - hardship Key Concepts contrast metaphor empathy Questions to Reflect On - When does softness become weakness? - How can you balance firmness with kindness? A Different Perspective May be idealistic in extreme situations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bed/) [Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break/) [Bred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bred/) [Feather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feather/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Melts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-melts-4684436/) [Melts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melts/) [Melts Rigor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melts-rigor-4684437/) [Rigor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rigor/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Rocks Bred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks-bred-4684438/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) ## Related quotes > [“I made an ice sculpture that represents my love for you. It never melts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-made-an-ice-sculpture-that-represents-my-love-for-you-it-never-melts/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Love melts the hardest hearts Enters between the cracks”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-julian/love-melts-the-hardest-hearts-enters-between-the-cracks/) [Rick Julian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-julian/) > [Wit is well-bred insolence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/wit-is-well-bred-insolence/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [I'm a London boy, born and bred, and I'll be there for as long as I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-holland/i-m-a-london-boy-born-and-bred-and-i-ll-be-there-for-as-long-as-i-can/) [Tom Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-holland/) > [The peculiarities of my childhood, of constantly moving through so many different cultures, of always being the outsider, may have made me extraordinarily self-sufficient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/the-peculiarities-of-my-childhood-of-constantly-moving-through-so/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [We have bred multiple generations of people who have not experienced knowing where you are the moment a news story broke, with that news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/we-have-bred-multiple-generations-of-people-who-have-not-experienced/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [He is not well bred, that cannot bear ill breeding in others](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/he-is-not-well-bred-that-cannot-bear-ill-breeding-in-others/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [One can be well-bred and write bad poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/one-can-be-well-bred-and-write-bad-poetry/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Oh, this age! 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I know this claim might sound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/humans-are-born-with-a-hard-wired-morality-a-sense-of-good-and-evil/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [It will not out of the flesh that is bred in the bone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-heywood/it-will-not-out-of-the-flesh-that-is-bred-in-the-bone/) [John Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-heywood/) > [Britain has bred many great explorers, but they seem to get so little coverage compared to soccer and rugby players.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/britain-has-bred-many-great-explorers-but-they-seem-to-get-so-little/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There ain't gon be no sequel. This here is in bred evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boondox/there-ain-t-gon-be-no-sequel-this-here-is-in-bred-evil/) [Boondox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boondox/) > [In Britain, it's bred into you, the idea that you can't really change anything, so why bother. When I went to school in America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brooke/in-britain-it-s-bred-into-you-the-idea-that-you-can-t-really-change/) [Heather Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brooke/) > [The development of the comedy club industry destroyed the uniqueness and intimacy of the profession but it also created jobs for comics and bred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/the-development-of-the-comedy-club-industry-destroyed-the-uniqueness/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) ## More by John Cleveland > [My tears will keep no channel, know no laws to guide their streams, but like the waves, their cause, run with disturbance till they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleveland/my-tears-will-keep-no-channel-know-no-laws-to-guide-their-streams-but/) [John Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleveland/) > [Had Cain been Scot, God would have changed his doom nor forced him wander, but confine him home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleveland/had-cain-been-scot-god-would-have-changed-his-doom-nor-forced-him/) [John Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleveland/) > [The astrologer who spells the stars, mistakes his globes and in her bright eye interprets heaven's physiognomies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleveland/the-astrologer-who-spells-the-stars-mistakes-his-globes-and-in-her/) [John Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleveland/) > [I am no Poet here; my pen's the spout where the rain water of my eyes run out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cleveland/i-am-no-poet-here-my-pen-s-the-spout-where-the-rain-water-of-my-eyes/) [John Cleveland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleveland/) [Explore all 5 John Cleveland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cleveland/) ## More Bed quotes > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Your idea of fidelity is not having more than one man in bed at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/your-idea-of-fidelity-is-not-having-more-than-one-man-in-bed-at-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish I had as much in bed as I get in the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-wish-i-had-as-much-in-bed-as-i-get-in-the-newspapers/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. 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