--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If love doesn’t triumph, it ought to. For…" description: "\"If love doesn’t triumph, it ought to. For love is the one thing we have that feels more powerful than even death; the only respite from life’s wretched..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/jonathan-hull-14193_absurdity_if-love-doesn-t-triumph-it-ought-to-for_2504849.jpg" --- # If love doesn’t triumph, it ought to. For love is the one… ![“If love doesn’t triumph, it ought to. For love is the one thing we have that feels more powerful than even death; the only respite from life’s wretched absurdity. The magic of love is not that it contains all the answers, it’s that it eliminates the need for so many pressing questions. For love…” quote by Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/jonathan-hull-14193_absurdity_if-love-doesn-t-triumph-it-ought-to-for_2504849.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/jonathan-hull-14193_absurdity_if-love-doesn-t-triumph-it-ought-to-for_2504849.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/995/jonathan-hull-14193_absurdity_if-love-doesn-t-triumph-it-ought-to-for_2504849.jpg) > “If love doesn’t triumph, it ought to. For love is the one thing we have that feels more powerful than even death; the only respite from life’s wretched absurdity. The magic of love is not that it contains all the answers, it’s that it eliminates the need for so many pressing questions. For love makes us feel like gods--and that’s what we’re really after, isn’t it?” [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) ## 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 powerful force that transcends death, offering meaning and a sense of divinity. **In simple terms:** Love feels more powerful than death. Key Takeaway Seek love’s transformative power. Themes love meaning mortality divinity Mood hopeful philosophical Type existential inspirational When to use this quote - relationships - artistic creation - spiritual practice - coping with loss Key Concepts existentialism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does love mean to you personally? - Can love replace all answers? A Different Perspective Love may not resolve practical problems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurdity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurdity/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Magic Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic-love/) [Respite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respite/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) ## Related quotes > [“You are a limitless consciousness, Love, and the One who contains within yourself all that is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-zernoff/you-are-a-limitless-consciousness-love-and-the-one-who-contains/) [Raphael Zernoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-zernoff/) > [“Love Contains Both “Yes” And “No”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rinehart/love-contains-both-yes-and-no/) [Paula Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rinehart/) > [“Love only contains: happiness and sadness .. nothing else XD”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andry-lavigne/love-only-contains-happiness-and-sadness-nothing-else-xd/) [andry lavigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andry-lavigne/) > [“Everything good is good because of the love it contains.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-brown/everything-good-is-good-because-of-the-love-it-contains/) [John K. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-brown/) > [I’ve always hated Mondays, the whole lot of them. Too much whiplash, snapping the tired masses to attention. God’s way, perhaps, of reminding us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/i-ve-always-hated-mondays-the-whole-lot-of-them-too-much-whiplash/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [For centuries, people from around the world have been grappling with two of the most complex questions; what is love and what is life?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nghi-lam/for-centuries-people-from-around-the-world-have-been-grappling-with/) [Nghi Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nghi-lam/) > [“And then there are the eternal questions of love and sex. Can there be friendship between men and women as long as the hormones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/and-then-there-are-the-eternal-questions-of-love-and-sex-can-there-be/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [There's no time for hatred, only questions. Where is love? Where is happiness? What is life? Where is peace?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-buckley/there-s-no-time-for-hatred-only-questions-where-is-love-where-is/) [Jeff Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-buckley/) > [I'm a kid checking mail, a kid on his cell with his questions: are we in love, Life, are we exclusive, are we forever?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/i-m-a-kid-checking-mail-a-kid-on-his-cell-with-his-questions-are-we/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [“So she asked herself two questions. First, 'Do I love him as much as a woman ought to love the man she married?' And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-reef/so-she-asked-herself-two-questions-first-do-i-love-him-as-much-as-a/) Catherine Reef > [“This is what we are like. Collectively as a species, this is our emotional landscape. I met an old lady once, almost 100 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/this-is-what-we-are-like-collectively-as-a-species-this-is-our/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [,,, Give me a love without questions .. For love is not logical answers,,,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lotus/give-me-a-love-without-questions-for-love-is-not-logical-answers/) Lotus > [There are only two questions that human beings have ever fought over, all through history. 'How much do you love me?' And, 'Who's in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/there-are-only-two-questions-that-human-beings-have-ever-fought-over/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [“But why all these questions? Because I'm in love and I'm afraid of suffering. Don't be afraid, the only way to avoid that suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/but-why-all-these-questions-because-i-m-in-love-and-i-m-afraid-of/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I love doing what I do. I love asking questions. I love being in the mix.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-king/i-love-doing-what-i-do-i-love-asking-questions-i-love-being-in-the-mix/) [Larry King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-king/) ## More by Jonathan Hull > [I've known people whose faces rested naturally in a smile and I'm certain their lives were much different because of that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/i-ve-known-people-whose-faces-rested-naturally-in-a-smile-and-i-m/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [“I noticed how the band members watched her and how she made them smile and I realized that she was the kind of person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/i-noticed-how-the-band-members-watched-her-and-how-she-made-them/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [Maybe what life needs is a good soundtrack, especially during the long stretches when nothing interesting is being said. A soundtrack might dignify things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/maybe-what-life-needs-is-a-good-soundtrack-especially-during-the-long/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [“Completely alive. I thought abut what she meant by that; about all the joy and wonder and passion that had slipped from her fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/completely-alive-i-thought-abut-what-she-meant-by-that-about-all-the/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [“Maybe our relationships--love--can save us, at least enough so that our lives are finally worthwhile, even with all the rotten misery and dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/maybe-our-relationships-love-can-save-us-at-least-enough-so-that-our/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [“What I remember most is the searing sensation of looking into her eyes for the first time,eyes that would hunt me for the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/what-i-remember-most-is-the-searing-sensation-of-looking-into-her/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [“But to find it and touch it and hold it! What relief, if only briefly, until love wears off or slips through our hands.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/but-to-find-it-and-touch-it-and-hold-it-what-relief-if-only-briefly/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [“Our lives feel fuller when we can weave them into stories, even if not all the stories are true and even if we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/our-lives-feel-fuller-when-we-can-weave-them-into-stories-even-if-not/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [“I often wondered why men will risk almost certain death in an attempt to save other men. I decided it was because men will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/i-often-wondered-why-men-will-risk-almost-certain-death-in-an-attempt/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [Books aren’t just my defenses, the sandbags I use to fortify my position; they are also the building blocks of my soul, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/books-aren-t-just-my-defenses-the-sandbags-i-use-to-fortify-my/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [ “Was \[her\] life really better than most, or did she appreciate it more or just remember it differently? I suspect she remembers it differently,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/was-her-life-really-better-than-most-or-did-she-appreciate-it-more-or/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [“The air was unusually warm and humid and I wondered if everyone else associated that sensation with childhood, with bare feet and wet grass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/the-air-was-unusually-warm-and-humid-and-i-wondered-if-everyone-else/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [Why does the longing for love have to be so acute, like a desperate thirst? Is it because love is wanting to be saved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/why-does-the-longing-for-love-have-to-be-so-acute-like-a-desperate/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [“Our quest for heroism is awkward. Not the obvious heroism that earns medals and applause but the heroism of daily life. Go to Princeton…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/our-quest-for-heroism-is-awkward-not-the-obvious-heroism-that-earns/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) > [“What is it about beauty that intimidates; causing us to kneel somewhere deep inside and pray and wonder just how close we might crawl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-hull/what-is-it-about-beauty-that-intimidates-causing-us-to-kneel/) [Jonathan Hull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) [Explore all 47 Jonathan Hull quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-hull/) ## More Absurdity quotes > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. Arguments which penetrate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-koestler/the-inner-defenses-are-unconscious-they-consist-of-a-kind-of-magic/) [Arthur Koestler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-koestler/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/such-squeamish-youths-as-cannot-bear-to-be-connected-with-a-little/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Thought of the incomprehensible sequence of changes and chances that make up a life, all the beauties and horrors and absurdities whose conjunctions create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/thought-of-the-incomprehensible-sequence-of-changes-and-chances-that/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [We all live inside the terrible engine of authority, and it grinds and shrieks and burns so that no one will say: lines on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/we-all-live-inside-the-terrible-engine-of-authority-and-it-grinds-and/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Desire is this absurdity that holds open the infinity of possibility. Ever optimistic, ever resourceful, desire tells us what it sees as it speeds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-farley/desire-is-this-absurdity-that-holds-open-the-infinity-of-possibility/) Wendy Farley > [I've always felt that comedy doesn't just come from misery. It comes from an absurdity around that misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-amstell/i-ve-always-felt-that-comedy-doesn-t-just-come-from-misery-it-comes/) [Simon Amstell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-amstell/) > [Unaware of the absurdity of it, we introduce our own petty household rules into the economy of the universe for which the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-herzen/unaware-of-the-absurdity-of-it-we-introduce-our-own-petty-household/) [Alexander Herzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-herzen/) > [“Christianity would be helpless without the idea of free will and the idea of free will would be helpless without incongruity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/christianity-would-be-helpless-without-the-idea-of-free-will-and-the/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Sensible Catholics have for generations been ignoring the views on contraception held by reactionary old men in the Vatican, but alas, since it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/sensible-catholics-have-for-generations-been-ignoring-the-views-on/) [A.C. 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