--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A great deal has been said about love at…" description: "\"A great deal has been said about love at first sight; I am perfectly aware of love's retrospective tendency to make a legend of itself, turn its beginn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/milan-kundera-120_clairvoyance_a-great-deal-has-been-said-about-love-at_1117776.jpg" --- # A great deal has been said about love at first sight; I am… ![“A great deal has been said about love at first sight; I am perfectly aware of love's retrospective tendency to make a legend of itself, turn its beginnings into myth; so I don't want to assert that it was love; but I have no doubt there was a kind of clairvoyance at work: I immediately felt…” quote by Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/milan-kundera-120_clairvoyance_a-great-deal-has-been-said-about-love-at_1117776.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/milan-kundera-120_clairvoyance_a-great-deal-has-been-said-about-love-at_1117776.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/milan-kundera-120_clairvoyance_a-great-deal-has-been-said-about-love-at_1117776.jpg) > “A great deal has been said about love at first sight; I am perfectly aware of love's retrospective tendency to make a legend of itself, turn its beginnings into myth; so I don't want to assert that it was love; but I have no doubt there was a kind of clairvoyance at work: I immediately felt, sensed, grasped the essence of Lucie's being or, to be more precise, the essence of what she was later to become for me; Lucie had revealed herself to me the way religious truth reveals itself.” [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator reflects on love's mythic quality, acknowledging a deep, intuitive recognition of another's essence akin to a spiritual revelation. **In simple terms:** Love feels like a profound, almost sacred insight. Key Takeaway Trust intuitive feelings about deep connections. Themes love intuition myth spirituality identity Mood thoughtful introspective philosophical Type literary reflective emotional When to use this quote - first encounters - long‑term relationships - self‑discovery Key Concepts romantic idealism psychological perception existential meaning Questions to Reflect On - What distinguishes intuition from idealization? - How do myths shape our view of relationships? A Different Perspective Romanticizing love can overlook practical realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aware Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aware-love-893529/) [Clairvoyance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clairvoyance/) [Deals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deals/) [Doubt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doubt/) [Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essence/) [First sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-sight/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Grasped Essence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grasped-essence-3008867/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kind Clairvoyance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-clairvoyance-3008865/) [Legends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legends/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love at first sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-at-first-sight/) [Lucie Revealed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucie-revealed-3008866/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [Religious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Sight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sight/) [Tendencies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendencies/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [She was aware that in love even the most passionate idealism will not rid the body's surface of its terrible, basic importance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/she-was-aware-that-in-love-even-the-most-passionate-idealism-will-not/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Lovers do not realize what they are doing when they conceal their feelings from one another. 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He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melania-trump/i-have-been-with-donald-for-18-years-and-i-have-been-aware-of-his/) [Melania Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melania-trump/) > [“We can discover the capacity of the mind to be aware, to love, to begin again”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/we-can-discover-the-capacity-of-the-mind-to-be-aware-to-love-to-begin/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [Mort was already aware that love made you feel hot and cold and cruel and weak, but he hadn't realized that it could make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/mort-was-already-aware-that-love-made-you-feel-hot-and-cold-and-cruel/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“I am well aware that for some, love and passion do not always follow the traditional path”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-quick/i-am-well-aware-that-for-some-love-and-passion-do-not-always-follow/) [Amanda Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-quick/) > [“From the moment I became truly aware of him, I was in love with him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/from-the-moment-i-became-truly-aware-of-him-i-was-in-love-with-him/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) > [Be aware, and wine becomes water. Be aware - sex becomes love. Be aware - love becomes prayer. Be aware - prayer becomes meditation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/be-aware-and-wine-becomes-water-be-aware-sex-becomes-love-be-aware/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I'm Aware About Love and you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/i-m-aware-about-love-and-you/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [Always be who YOU are, be self-aware, and love yourself tremendously!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zulay-henao/always-be-who-you-are-be-self-aware-and-love-yourself-tremendously/) [Zulay Henao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zulay-henao/) > [Cease trying to work everything out with your minds, it will get you nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-michael-davis/cease-trying-to-work-everything-out-with-your-minds-it-will-get-you/) [Charles Michael Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-michael-davis/) > [“Unfortunately, clairvoyance is insufficient as an innovation strategy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/unfortunately-clairvoyance-is-insufficient-as-an-innovation-strategy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Without constant clairvoyance on the part of every man and woman, existence on your plane would involve such inner, psychological insecurity that it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-roberts/without-constant-clairvoyance-on-the-part-of-every-man-and-woman/) [Jane Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-roberts/) ## More by Milan Kundera > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“From that time on they both looked forward to sleeping together. I might even say that the goal of their lovemaking was not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/from-that-time-on-they-both-looked-forward-to-sleeping-together-i/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The beauty of New York is unintentional; it arose independent of human design, like a stalagmite cavern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-beauty-of-new-york-is-unintentional-it-arose-independent-of-human/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Children, Never look Back!" and this meant that we must never allow the future to be weighed down by memory . for children have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/children-never-look-back-and-this-meant-that-we-must-never-allow-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Our lives may be separate, but they run in the same direction, like parallel lines.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/our-lives-may-be-separate-but-they-run-in-the-same-direction-like/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Having a child is to show an absolute accord with mankind. If I have a child, it's as though I'm saying: I was born…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/having-a-child-is-to-show-an-absolute-accord-with-mankind-if-i-have-a/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Love is a battle," said Marie-Claude, still smiling. "And I plan to go on fighting. To the end." Love is a battle?" said Franz.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/love-is-a-battle-said-marie-claude-still-smiling-and-i-plan-to-go-on/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“He remained annoyed with himself until he realized that not knowing what he wanted was actually quite natural. We can never know what to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/he-remained-annoyed-with-himself-until-he-realized-that-not-knowing/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [When we ignore the body, we are more easily victimized by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/when-we-ignore-the-body-we-are-more-easily-victimized-by-it/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Do stories, apart from happening, being, have something to say? For all my skepticism, some trace of irrational superstition did survive in me, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/do-stories-apart-from-happening-being-have-something-to-say-for-all/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“Os extremos delimitam a fronteira para além da qual a vida termina, e a paixão pelo extremismo, tanto em arte como em política, é…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/os-extremos-delimitam-a-fronteira-para-al-m-da-qual-a-vida-termina-e/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/anyone-whose-goal-is-something-higher-must-expect-someday-to-suffer/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) [Explore all 952 Milan Kundera quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## More Clairvoyance quotes > [“Without constant clairvoyance on the part of every man and woman, existence on your plane would involve such inner, psychological insecurity that it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-roberts/without-constant-clairvoyance-on-the-part-of-every-man-and-woman/) [Jane Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-roberts/) > [“Unfortunately, clairvoyance is insufficient as an innovation strategy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/unfortunately-clairvoyance-is-insufficient-as-an-innovation-strategy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Cease trying to work everything out with your minds, it will get you nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-michael-davis/cease-trying-to-work-everything-out-with-your-minds-it-will-get-you/) [Charles Michael Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-michael-davis/) > [“Now (obviously) a sentence’s truth—even when we hold the sentence’s meaning fixed—depends on which world we are considering. “Brown is Prime Minister” is true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-g-lycan/now-obviously-a-sentence-s-truth-even-when-we-hold-the-sentence-s/) [William G. Lycan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-g-lycan/) > [“Intuition goes before you, showing you the way. Emotion follows behind, to let you know when you go astray. Listen to your inner voice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/intuition-goes-before-you-showing-you-the-way-emotion-follows-behind/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [“Where's my clairvoyance when I need it? Hell, where are any of my senses?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-hooper/where-s-my-clairvoyance-when-i-need-it-hell-where-are-any-of-my-senses/) [Kay Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-hooper/) > [It is more or less a given that nothing is less favorable to clairvoyance than the bright sun: physical light and mental light coexist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andr-breton/it-is-more-or-less-a-given-that-nothing-is-less-favorable-to/) [Andre Breton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andr-breton/) > [“Some people are highly empathic, some people are telempathic, or telepathic, some are clairempathic, while others are claircognizant, clairvoyant, clairaliant, clairaudient, clairgustant, clairsentient; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-joybell-c/some-people-are-highly-empathic-some-people-are-telempathic-or/) [C. JoyBell C](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-joybell-c/) > [Intuition comes very close to clairvoyance; it appears to be the extrasensory perception of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-carrel/intuition-comes-very-close-to-clairvoyance-it-appears-to-be-the/) [Alexis Carrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-carrel/) > [“There was clairvoyance to their words and a tenderness in their inflections that instilled even in the most cynical of male hearts that faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-monsky/there-was-clairvoyance-to-their-words-and-a-tenderness-in-their/) [Eric Monsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-monsky/) > [“In a drawl so low, it seemed to suspend time, the old man said, "When the last leaf falls from the Widow's Tree this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-bledsoe/in-a-drawl-so-low-it-seemed-to-suspend-time-the-old-man-said-when-the/) [Alex Bledsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-bledsoe/) > [With that strange knowing that comes over me, like a clairvoyance, I know that I am sure of myself and my enormous and alarmingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/with-that-strange-knowing-that-comes-over-me-like-a-clairvoyance-i/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [Our fears are an amazing gift of the imagination, a kind of everyday clairvoyance, a way of glimpsing what might be the future when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/our-fears-are-an-amazing-gift-of-the-imagination-a-kind-of-everyday/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [“You're doubtless well aware that most of the great hypnotic patients wind up referring to themselves in the third person, like little children. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auguste-villiers-de-l-isle-adam/you-re-doubtless-well-aware-that-most-of-the-great-hypnotic-patients/) [Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auguste-villiers-de-l-isle-adam/) > [SETH said: The natural person is to be found, now, not in the past or in the present, but beneath layers and layers of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-roberts/seth-said-the-natural-person-is-to-be-found-now-not-in-the-past-or-in/) [Jane Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-roberts/) [Browse all 27 Clairvoyance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clairvoyance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A great deal has been said about love at first sight; I am perfectly aware of love's retrospective tendency to make a legend of itself, turn its beginnings into myth; so I don't want to assert that it was love; but I have no doubt there was a kind of clairvoyance at work: I immediately felt, sensed, grasped the essence of Lucie's being or, to be more precise, the essence of what she was later to become for me; Lucie had revealed herself to me the way religious truth reveals itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Milan Kundera" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/a-great-deal-has-been-said-about-love-at-first-sight-i-am-perfectly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clairvoyance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/a-great-deal-has-been-said-about-love-at-first-sight-i-am-perfectly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/milan-kundera-120_clairvoyance_a-great-deal-has-been-said-about-love-at_1117776.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/milan-kundera-120_clairvoyance_a-great-deal-has-been-said-about-love-at_1117776.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2db/milan-kundera-120_clairvoyance_a-great-deal-has-been-said-about-love-at_1117776.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A great deal has been said about love at first sight; I am perfectly aware of love's retrospective tendency…” — Milan Kundera", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Milan Kundera", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A great deal has been said...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/a-great-deal-has-been-said-about-love-at-first-sight-i-am-perfectly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/a-great-deal-has-been-said-about-love-at-first-sight-i-am-perfectly/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```