--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once we love, we cannot revoke it,' she…" description: "\"“Once we love, we cannot revoke it,' she said. 'We can only glory in what it brings -- pain as well as joy, grief as well as hope.”\" — Marie Brennan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/marie-brennan-25363_grief_once-we-love-we-cannot-revoke-it-she-sai_2360990.jpg" --- # Once we love, we cannot revoke it,' she said. 'We can only… ![“Once we love, we cannot revoke it,' she said. 'We can only glory in what it brings -- pain as well as joy, grief as well as hope.” quote by Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/marie-brennan-25363_grief_once-we-love-we-cannot-revoke-it-she-sai_2360990.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/marie-brennan-25363_grief_once-we-love-we-cannot-revoke-it-she-sai_2360990.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/40c/marie-brennan-25363_grief_once-we-love-we-cannot-revoke-it-she-sai_2360990.jpg) > ““Once we love, we cannot revoke it,' she said. 'We can only glory in what it brings -- pain as well as joy, grief as well as hope.”” [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) ## 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 an irreversible bond that brings both joy and suffering, and we must accept both aspects. **In simple terms:** Love brings joy and pain together. Key Takeaway Embrace love fully, despite its hardships. Themes love acceptance duality Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - grief - joy - hope - personal growth Key Concepts emotional complexity human experience Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance love’s joy and pain? - Can you find meaning in love’s suffering? A Different Perspective Love can cause deep hurt and may be difficult to manage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ## Related quotes > [“My joy, my grief, my hope, my love, Did all within this circle move! —EDMUND WALLER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/my-joy-my-grief-my-hope-my-love-did-all-within-this-circle-move/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [My joy, my grief, my hope, my love, Did all within this circle move!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-waller/my-joy-my-grief-my-hope-my-love-did-all-within-this-circle-move-2/) [Edmund Waller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-waller/) > [“Hope alone is a placebo, that can lead to grief For hope without effort, seldom brings relief”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-gonzales/hope-alone-is-a-placebo-that-can-lead-to-grief-for-hope-without/) [Gil Gonzales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-gonzales/) > [I have to ask myself how I can possibly expect to know Jesus as he would want to be known if my life remains…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-custis-james/i-have-to-ask-myself-how-i-can-possibly-expect-to-know-jesus-as-he/) [Carolyn Custis James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-custis-james/) > [All our pride is but a jest. None are worst and none are best. Grief and hope and joy and fear Play their pageant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-campion/all-our-pride-is-but-a-jest-none-are-worst-and-none-are-best-grief/) [Thomas Campion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-campion/) > [I am conscious that knowing me has caused you pain, and grief, and I hope that one day when you are less angry with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo-moyes/i-am-conscious-that-knowing-me-has-caused-you-pain-and-grief-and-i/) [Jojo Moyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo-moyes/) > [Joy and grief decide character. What exalts prosperity? what imbitters grief? what leaves us indifferent? what interests us? As the interest of man, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/joy-and-grief-decide-character-what-exalts-prosperity-what-imbitters/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [I was given life because it was my time, and now I take leave of it according to the same law. Content with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuangzi/i-was-given-life-because-it-was-my-time-and-now-i-take-leave-of-it/) [Zhuangzi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuangzi/) > [But that had been grief--this was joy. Yet that grief and this joy were alike outside all the ordinary conditions of life; they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/but-that-had-been-grief-this-was-joy-yet-that-grief-and-this-joy-were/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Joy and grief are never far apart. In the same street the shutters of one house are closed, while the curtains of the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/joy-and-grief-are-never-far-apart-in-the-same-street-the-shutters-of/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [“...living the same sorrows three times was a suffering, but it was a suffering to relive even the same joys. The joy of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/living-the-same-sorrows-three-times-was-a-suffering-but-it-was-a/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [There are all sorts of experiences we can't really put a name to...The birth of a child, for one. Or the death of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/there-are-all-sorts-of-experiences-we-can-t-really-put-a-name-to-the/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [There's a conflicted look in Day's eyes, a joy and a grief, that makes him so vulnerable. I realize how little defense he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-lu/there-s-a-conflicted-look-in-day-s-eyes-a-joy-and-a-grief-that-makes/) [Marie Lu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-lu/) > [“All he knew and felt was that what was happening was what had happened nearly a year before in the hotel of the country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/all-he-knew-and-felt-was-that-what-was-happening-was-what-had/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [“I don't recognise any of my emotions any more. There's no such thing as plain joy or grief. It's horror and relief and panic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wein/i-don-t-recognise-any-of-my-emotions-any-more-there-s-no-such-thing/) [Elizabeth Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wein/) ## More by Marie Brennan > [“She reached out with her free hand, and when it came back, it glowed with a shaft of impossible light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/she-reached-out-with-her-free-hand-and-when-it-came-back-it-glowed/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“Just as Manda Lewis's impressions of the world had been informed by her reading-- leading her to expect balls, duels, and conveniently timed thunderstorms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/just-as-manda-lewis-s-impressions-of-the-world-had-been-informed-by/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“And all the while I have people telling me, at least you still have something of your husband . Do they mean the book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/and-all-the-while-i-have-people-telling-me-at-least-you-still-have/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“More shouts, and then my father was there, staring down at me in horror: the minor pagan god, appalled at what his worshiper had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/more-shouts-and-then-my-father-was-there-staring-down-at-me-in-horror/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“I wish it could have been otherwise. But in the end … this is part of our past, whether we are proud to admit it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/i-wish-it-could-have-been-otherwise-but-in-the-end-this-is-part-of/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [But coming to terms with one’s sorrow is one thing; sharing it with strangers is quite another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/but-coming-to-terms-with-one-s-sorrow-is-one-thing-sharing-it-with/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“Their characteristics are well-known. They're beautiful -- when they're not astoundingly ugly. They're both goddesses for men to worship, and demons for them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/their-characteristics-are-well-known-they-re-beautiful-when-they-re/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“some of whom did not know declensions from décolletage. It”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/some-of-whom-did-not-know-declensions-from-d-colletage-it/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“When I finally did confront Mr. Arcott, after my return to Falchester, he had the cheek to try and argue that his intellectual thievery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/when-i-finally-did-confront-mr-arcott-after-my-return-to-falchester/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“You may think you see plenty of stars, friend reader, but you are wrong. Night is both blacker and more brilliant than you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/you-may-think-you-see-plenty-of-stars-friend-reader-but-you-are-wrong/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“Utopias bore me. I'm interested in constructing messy, complicated societies that are full of flaws and then saying, ooh, this is interesting, let's see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/utopias-bore-me-i-m-interested-in-constructing-messy-complicated/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“This was London, in all its filth and glory. Nostalgic for the past, while yearning to cast off the chains of bygone ages and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/this-was-london-in-all-its-filth-and-glory-nostalgic-for-the-past/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [Matriarchy is a time-honored staple for any writer looking to invent an exotic society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/matriarchy-is-a-time-honored-staple-for-any-writer-looking-to-invent/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“Be warned, then: the collected volumes of this series will contain frozen mountains, foetid swamps, hostile foreigners, hostile fellow countrymen, the occasional hostile family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/be-warned-then-the-collected-volumes-of-this-series-will-contain/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) > [“You and I are not held to the same standards, Andrew. People will forgive a slip, a weakness, a minor personal folly — when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-brennan/you-and-i-are-not-held-to-the-same-standards-andrew-people-will/) [Marie Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) [Explore all 23 Marie Brennan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-brennan/) ## More Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. 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