--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The other one he loved like a slave, like…" description: "\"The other one he loved like a slave, like a madman and like a beggar. Why? Ask the dust on the road and the falling leaves, ask the mysterious God of l..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/knut-hamsun-1203_beggar_the-other-one-he-loved-like-a-slave-like_2511074.jpg" --- # The other one he loved like a slave, like a madman and… ![“The other one he loved like a slave, like a madman and like a beggar. Why? Ask the dust on the road and the falling leaves, ask the mysterious God of life; for no one knows such things. She gave him nothing, no nothing did she give him and yet he thanked her. She said: Give me your peace and your…” quote by Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/knut-hamsun-1203_beggar_the-other-one-he-loved-like-a-slave-like_2511074.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/knut-hamsun-1203_beggar_the-other-one-he-loved-like-a-slave-like_2511074.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/131/knut-hamsun-1203_beggar_the-other-one-he-loved-like-a-slave-like_2511074.jpg) > “The other one he loved like a slave, like a madman and like a beggar. Why? Ask the dust on the road and the falling leaves, ask the mysterious God of life; for no one knows such things. She gave him nothing, no nothing did she give him and yet he thanked her. She said: Give me your peace and your reason! And he was only sorry she did not ask for his life.” [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A lover’s devotion is paradoxical, mixing servitude, madness, and poverty, while the divine mystery remains unknowable. **In simple terms:** Love can be contradictory and mysterious. Key Takeaway Embrace love’s complexity without expecting answers. Themes love devotion madness spirituality paradox Mood melancholic poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - romantic relationships - spiritual quests - personal sacrifice - unanswered questions Key Concepts existential longing divine mystery human suffering Questions to Reflect On - What drives love without tangible reward? - How do we reconcile love with suffering? A Different Perspective The lover’s gratitude may seem misplaced without clear benefit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Falling leaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-leaves/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Madmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madmen/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Slave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slave/) ## Related quotes > [I no longer believed in the known God of the Bible, but rather in the mysterious God expressed in nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-no-longer-believed-in-the-known-god-of-the-bible-but-rather-in-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [“When a man is a mystery to himself you can hardly call him mysterious." "God will judge us by what we did to relieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/when-a-man-is-a-mystery-to-himself-you-can-hardly-call-him-mysterious/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [However, the mind has an amazing ability to continue worrying away at a problem all on its own, so that when the "Eureka!" comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-r-king/however-the-mind-has-an-amazing-ability-to-continue-worrying-away-at/) [Laurie R. 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She gave a start. ’Are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/well-god-be-with-you-she-said-as-she-finally-left-him-i-m-sure-he-is/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [“De sier hun er melle firti og femti, men hun er mindst seksti, ropte han, og er slikt menneskelig? 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But I admire and love the result of the genius's activity in the world, of which the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/no-i-don-t-admire-the-genius-but-i-admire-and-love-the-result-of-the/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [“Gud hvor De ser ut som en sån melankolsk fabelkat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/gud-hvor-de-ser-ut-som-en-s-n-melankolsk-fabelkat/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [“Daniel var en mand som forstod adskillig, han hadde været ute for et og andet i livet, hadde mistet både sin farsgård og sin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/daniel-var-en-mand-som-forstod-adskillig-han-hadde-v-ret-ute-for-et/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [“I imagined I had discovered a new word. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/if-i-happened-to-find-a-diamond-one-day-i-would-call-it-dagny-because/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) > [There are some people who cannot help giving. Why? Because they experience a real psychological pleasure in doing so. They don't do it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/knut-hamsun/there-are-some-people-who-cannot-help-giving-why-because-they/) [Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) [Explore all 197 Knut Hamsun quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/knut-hamsun/) ## More Beggar quotes > [If some beggar steals a bridle he'll be hung by a man who's stolen a horse. 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A beggar upon horseback lashes a beggar on foot. Hurrah for revolution and cannon come again! The beggars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/hurrah-for-revolution-and-more-cannon-shot-a-beggar-upon-horseback/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You obviously don't know what an Old Man of the Sea great wealth is. It is not a fat purse and time to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/you-obviously-don-t-know-what-an-old-man-of-the-sea-great-wealth-is/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Make of the Silence your to-do tasks, of the compassion your wealth and of the meditation your beggar's bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guru-nanak/make-of-the-silence-your-to-do-tasks-of-the-compassion-your-wealth/) [Guru Nanak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guru-nanak/) > [Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/nobody-but-a-beggar-chooses-to-depend-chiefly-upon-the-benevolence-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [All religions have honored the beggar. For he proves that in a matter at the same time as prosaic and holy, banal and regenerative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-religions-have-honored-the-beggar-for-he-proves-that-in-a-matter/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [I'll not meddle with it. It makes a man a coward: a man cannot steal but it accuseth him; a man cannot swear but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-ll-not-meddle-with-it-it-makes-a-man-a-coward-a-man-cannot-steal/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [A beggar through the world am I, From place to place I wander by. Fill up my pilgrim's scrip for me, For Christ's sweet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/a-beggar-through-the-world-am-i-from-place-to-place-i-wander-by-fill/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [The bashful beggar has an empty purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cranch-bond/the-bashful-beggar-has-an-empty-purse/) [William Cranch Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cranch-bond/) > [“A coin is examined, and only after careful deliberation, given to a beggar, whereas a child is flung out into the cosmic brutality without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-wessel-zapffe/a-coin-is-examined-and-only-after-careful-deliberation-given-to-a/) [Peter Wessel Zapffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-wessel-zapffe/) Browse all 455 Beggar quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The other one he loved like a slave, like a madman and like a beggar. 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