--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love consists in giving without getting…" description: "\"Love consists in giving without getting in return; in giving what is not owed, what is not due the other. That's why true love is never based, as assoc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/mortimer-adler-8067_giving_love-consists-in-giving-without-getting_1352286.jpg" --- # Love consists in giving without getting in return; in… ![“Love consists in giving without getting in return; in giving what is not owed, what is not due the other. That's why true love is never based, as associations for utility or pleasure are, on a fair exchange.” quote by Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/mortimer-adler-8067_giving_love-consists-in-giving-without-getting_1352286.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/mortimer-adler-8067_giving_love-consists-in-giving-without-getting_1352286.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/mortimer-adler-8067_giving_love-consists-in-giving-without-getting_1352286.jpg) > “Love consists in giving without getting in return; in giving what is not owed, what is not due the other. That's why true love is never based, as associations for utility or pleasure are, on a fair exchange.” [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True love is selfless, giving without expectation of return or repayment, unlike relationships based on utility or pleasure. **In simple terms:** Love is selfless, not transactional. Key Takeaway Practice giving without expecting anything back. Themes philosophy ethics relationships selflessness human nature Mood introspective inspirational Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - friendships - romantic partnerships - volunteer work - family dynamics Key Concepts Altruism reciprocity moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Are you able to give without feeling depleted? - How do you balance self-care with selfless giving? A Different Perspective Selfless love can be emotionally taxing and may be exploited. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fair Exchange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fair-exchange-3142605/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Based](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-based-276026/) [Love Consists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-consists-443990/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [True love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-love/) [Utility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utility/) ## Related quotes > [Fair exchange, as the old saw goes is never robbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iceberg-slim/fair-exchange-as-the-old-saw-goes-is-never-robbery/) [Iceberg Slim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iceberg-slim/) > [“(It’s) a fair exchange. You’re giving me attention. That’s a form of affection, you know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-gordon/it-s-a-fair-exchange-you-re-giving-me-attention-that-s-a-form-of/) [Arthur Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-gordon/) > [“Fair exchange is no robbery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-banks/fair-exchange-is-no-robbery/) [L.A. Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-banks/) > [I often wonder why the West is much more interested in aid deliveries than in fair trade, for example. The fair exchange of goods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kagame/i-often-wonder-why-the-west-is-much-more-interested-in-aid-deliveries/) [Paul Kagame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kagame/) > [Real love is not based upon romance,candle light,dinner and walk along beach.Infact,It's based on care,compromise,respect and trust..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-love-is-not-based-upon-romance-candle-light-dinner-and-walk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love consists in leaving the loved one space to be themselves while providing the security within which that self may flourish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/love-consists-in-leaving-the-loved-one-space-to-be-themselves-while/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [Love consists of not looking each other in the eye, but of looking outwardly in the same direction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-consists-of-not-looking-each-other-in-the-eye-but-of-looking/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love consists in desiring to give what is our own to another and feeling his delight as our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emanuel-swedenborg/love-consists-in-desiring-to-give-what-is-our-own-to-another-and/) [Emanuel Swedenborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emanuel-swedenborg/) > [Today I begin to understand what our love is, consists of; as we have been apart we have lacked the other half of ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rochelle-biscaino/today-i-begin-to-understand-what-our-love-is-consists-of-as-we-have/) [Rochelle Biscaino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rochelle-biscaino/) > [LOVE, Consists of happiness, given back and forth;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/love-consists-of-happiness-given-back-and-forth/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Love consists of this: two solitudes that meet, protect and great each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/love-consists-of-this-two-solitudes-that-meet-protect-and-great-each/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [“Love consists of two hearts that when attracted to each other want to bloom together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/love-consists-of-two-hearts-that-when-attracted-to-each-other-want-to/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [“Love consists of this: two solitudes that meet, protect and greet each other. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/love-consists-of-this-two-solitudes-that-meet-protect-and-greet-each/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) > [Falling in love consists merely in uncorking the imagination and bottling the common sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-rowland/falling-in-love-consists-merely-in-uncorking-the-imagination-and/) [Helen Rowland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-rowland/) > [Love consists in this, that two solitudes protect and touch and greet each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/love-consists-in-this-that-two-solitudes-protect-and-touch-and-greet/) [Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/) ## More by Mortimer Adler > [I wonder if most people ever ask themselves why love is connected with reproduction. And if they do ask themselves about this, I wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/i-wonder-if-most-people-ever-ask-themselves-why-love-is-connected/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [A good book can teach you about the world and about yourself. You learn more than how to read better; you also learn more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/a-good-book-can-teach-you-about-the-world-and-about-yourself-you/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [We are selfish when we are exclusively or predominantly concerned with the good for ourselves. We are altruistic when we are exclusively or predominantly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/we-are-selfish-when-we-are-exclusively-or-predominantly-concerned/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [Habits are formed by the repetition of particular acts. They are strengthened by an increase in the number of repeated acts. Habits are also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/habits-are-formed-by-the-repetition-of-particular-acts-they-are/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [There is a strange fact about the human mind, a fact that differentiates the mind sharply from the body. The body is limited in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/there-is-a-strange-fact-about-the-human-mind-a-fact-that/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [The complexities of adult life get in the way of the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/the-complexities-of-adult-life-get-in-the-way-of-the-truth/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [Think how different human societies would be if they were based on love rather than justice. But no such societies have ever existed on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/think-how-different-human-societies-would-be-if-they-were-based-on/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [I suspect that most of the individuals who have religious faith are content with blind faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/i-suspect-that-most-of-the-individuals-who-have-religious-faith-are/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [Teachers may think they are stuffing minds, but all they are ever affecting is the memory. Nothing can ever be forced into anyone's mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/teachers-may-think-they-are-stuffing-minds-but-all-they-are-ever/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [The love which moves the world, according to common Christian belief, is God's love and the love of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/the-love-which-moves-the-world-according-to-common-christian-belief/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [Being influential is not the mark of a great book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/being-influential-is-not-the-mark-of-a-great-book/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [Angels are able to know and understand better than the human intellect can, precisely because such knowledge and understanding comes to them by way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/angels-are-able-to-know-and-understand-better-than-the-human/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [Men value things in three ways: as useful, as pleasant or sources of pleasure, and as excellent, or as intrinsically admirable or honorable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/men-value-things-in-three-ways-as-useful-as-pleasant-or-sources-of/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [Erotic or sexual love can truly be love if it is not selfishly sexual or lustful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/erotic-or-sexual-love-can-truly-be-love-if-it-is-not-selfishly-sexual/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [I suspect that most of the individuals who have religious faith are content with blind faith. They feel no obligation to understand what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/i-suspect-that-most-of-the-individuals-who-have-religious-faith-are-2/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) [Explore all 84 Mortimer Adler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) ## More Giving quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) > [Eternal Trinity... mystery deep as the sea, You could give me no greater gift than the gift of Yourself. For You are a fire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/eternal-trinity-mystery-deep-as-the-sea-you-could-give-me-no-greater/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [Faith gives you a certain structure and meaning to your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riffat-hassan/faith-gives-you-a-certain-structure-and-meaning-to-your-life/) [Riffat Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riffat-hassan/) > [Grandma, please. It’s okay. Dad’s doing a great job. I give him kudos for at least being calm and rational, and not losing his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/grandma-please-it-s-okay-dad-s-doing-a-great-job-i-give-him-kudos-for/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [Give me strength to walk the soft earth, a relative to all that is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/black-elk/give-me-strength-to-walk-the-soft-earth-a-relative-to-all-that-is/) [Black Elk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/black-elk/) > [I don't think my relationship with the idea of womanhood is that attached to giving birth... like, I'm fully aware that I'll never give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-harrison/i-don-t-think-my-relationship-with-the-idea-of-womanhood-is-that/) [Patti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-harrison/) [Browse all 39,303 Giving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love consists in giving without getting in return; in giving what is not owed, what is not due the other. 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