--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a curious subject of observation…" description: "\"“It is a curious subject of observation and inquiry, whether hatred and love be not the same thing at bottom. Each, in its utmost development, supposes..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_hatred-and-love_it-is-a-curious-subject-of-observation-a_757368.jpg" --- # It is a curious subject of observation and inquiry… ![“It is a curious subject of observation and inquiry, whether hatred and love be not the same thing at bottom. Each, in its utmost development, supposes a high degree of intimacy and heart-knowledge; each renders one individual dependent for the food of his affections and spiritual fife upon…” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_hatred-and-love_it-is-a-curious-subject-of-observation-a_757368.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_hatred-and-love_it-is-a-curious-subject-of-observation-a_757368.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee6/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_hatred-and-love_it-is-a-curious-subject-of-observation-a_757368.jpg) > ““It is a curious subject of observation and inquiry, whether hatred and love be not the same thing at bottom. Each, in its utmost development, supposes a high degree of intimacy and heart-knowledge; each renders one individual dependent for the food of his affections and spiritual fife upon another: each leaves the passionate lover, or the no less passionate hater, forlorn and desolate by the withdrawal of his subject. Philosophically considered, therefore, the two passions seem essentially the same, except that one happens to be seen in a celestial radiance, and the other in a dusky and lurid glow.”” [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hatred and love share a deep intimacy, making them two sides of the same passionate bond, differing only in perception. **In simple terms:** Love and hate are deep, similar passions seen differently. Key Takeaway Recognize the thin line between love and hate. Themes love hatred intimacy dualities passion Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - family dynamics - political rivalry - artistic expression Key Concepts psychology philosophy emotional duality Questions to Reflect On - When have you felt love turn to hate? - What can temper intense emotions? A Different Perspective The intensity can become destructive if not balanced. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affections Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affections-spiritual-4162695/) [Considered Passions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/considered-passions-5879511/) [Hatred and love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred-and-love/) [Hatred Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred-love/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lover/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) [Subject Philosophically](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-philosophically-5879510/) ## Related quotes > [It is a curious subject of observation and inquiry, whether hatred and love be not the same thing at bottom. Each, in its utmost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-is-a-curious-subject-of-observation-and-inquiry-whether-hatred-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [it is a curious subject of observation and inquiry, whether hatred and love be not the same thing at bottom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-is-a-curious-subject-of-observation-and-inquiry-whether-hatred-and-3/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Hatred and love are flowers which bloom from the same seed. You cannot hate something without first loving it—even if merely the idea. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hp-nero/hatred-and-love-are-flowers-which-bloom-from-the-same-seed-you-cannot/) [HP Nero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hp-nero/) > [“Always remember that hatred and love are equally consuming passions, and that in affairs of the heart there is a fine line between the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-keegan/always-remember-that-hatred-and-love-are-equally-consuming-passions/) [Karen Keegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-keegan/) > [As man's love or hatred, so he. Love and hatred exist only personified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/as-man-s-love-or-hatred-so-he-love-and-hatred-exist-only-personified/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [“It is truly a marvel, but I tell you, hatred and love may live cramped together, crouching in the same heart. There are many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/it-is-truly-a-marvel-but-i-tell-you-hatred-and-love-may-live-cramped/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [I wanted to feel hatred and love, despair and tedium, all those simple, yet foolish things that make up everyday life but that give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-wanted-to-feel-hatred-and-love-despair-and-tedium-all-those-simple/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“To care means first of all to empty our own cup and to allow the other to come close to us. It means to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/to-care-means-first-of-all-to-empty-our-own-cup-and-to-allow-the/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [There are some works which the authors must consign unpublished to posterity, however uncertain be the event, however hopeless be the trust. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-are-some-works-which-the-authors-must-consign-unpublished-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Love and hatred are not blind, but are blinded by the fire they bear within themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/love-and-hatred-are-not-blind-but-are-blinded-by-the-fire-they-bear/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We fluctuate long between love and hatred before we can arrive at tranquillity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heloise/we-fluctuate-long-between-love-and-hatred-before-we-can-arrive-at/) [Heloise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heloise/) > [Heavy, heavy-hearted peoplegrow lighter and rise occasionally to their surface through precisely that which makes others heavier, through hatred and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/heavy-heavy-hearted-peoplegrow-lighter-and-rise-occasionally-to-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Could you understand the meaning of light if there were no darkness to point the contrast? Day and night, life and death, love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/could-you-understand-the-meaning-of-light-if-there-were-no-darkness/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [Love and hatred don't take turns; they exist side by side at the same time. And one's duty, one's obligation every day, is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/love-and-hatred-don-t-take-turns-they-exist-side-by-side-at-the-same/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [An educated man is one who has the loves and hatreds together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/an-educated-man-is-one-who-has-the-loves-and-hatreds-together/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) ## More by Nathaniel Hawthorne > [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The trees reflected in the river - they are unconscious of a spiritual world so near to them. So are we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-trees-reflected-in-the-river-they-are-unconscious-of-a-spiritual/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at its circumference unbroken sequences of teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-dismaying-thing-about-the-classic-totalitarian-mind-is-that-any/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire, I longed to kindle one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/my-heart-was-a-habitation-large-enough-for-many-guests-but-lonely-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Wherever there is a heart and an intellect, the diseases of the physical frame are tinged with the peculiarities of these.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/wherever-there-is-a-heart-and-an-intellect-the-diseases-of-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Generosity is the flower of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/generosity-is-the-flower-of-justice/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“he seemed to be in quest for mental food, not heart sustenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/he-seemed-to-be-in-quest-for-mental-food-not-heart-sustenance/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Unfathomable to mere mortals is the lore of fiends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/unfathomable-to-mere-mortals-is-the-lore-of-fiends/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Possibly, he was in a state of second growth and recovery, and was constantly assimilating nutriment for his spirit and intellect from sights, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/possibly-he-was-in-a-state-of-second-growth-and-recovery-and-was/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“What wonder, then, should we be frightened by the aspect of a monster, which, after all,—though we can point to every feature of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-wonder-then-should-we-be-frightened-by-the-aspect-of-a-monster/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [As the architecture of a country always follows the earliest structures, American architecture should be a refinement of the log-house. The Egyptian is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/as-the-architecture-of-a-country-always-follows-the-earliest/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-we-call-real-estate-the-solid-ground-to-build-a-house-on-is-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The bookworm of great libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-bookworm-of-great-libraries/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-are-many-things-in-this-world-that-a-child-must-not-ask-about/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) [Explore all 526 Nathaniel Hawthorne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## More Hatred and love quotes > [An educated man is one who has the loves and hatreds together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-yutang/an-educated-man-is-one-who-has-the-loves-and-hatreds-together/) [Lin Yutang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-yutang/) > [Love and hatred don't take turns; they exist side by side at the same time. And one's duty, one's obligation every day, is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/love-and-hatred-don-t-take-turns-they-exist-side-by-side-at-the-same/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [Could you understand the meaning of light if there were no darkness to point the contrast? Day and night, life and death, love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/could-you-understand-the-meaning-of-light-if-there-were-no-darkness/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [Heavy, heavy-hearted peoplegrow lighter and rise occasionally to their surface through precisely that which makes others heavier, through hatred and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/heavy-heavy-hearted-peoplegrow-lighter-and-rise-occasionally-to-their/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is a curious subject of observation and inquiry, whether hatred and love be not the same thing at bottom. Each, in its utmost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/it-is-a-curious-subject-of-observation-and-inquiry-whether-hatred-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [As man's love or hatred, so he. Love and hatred exist only personified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/as-man-s-love-or-hatred-so-he-love-and-hatred-exist-only-personified/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [We fluctuate long between love and hatred before we can arrive at tranquillity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heloise/we-fluctuate-long-between-love-and-hatred-before-we-can-arrive-at/) [Heloise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heloise/) > [Love and hatred are not blind, but are blinded by the fire they bear within themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/love-and-hatred-are-not-blind-but-are-blinded-by-the-fire-they-bear/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There are some works which the authors must consign unpublished to posterity, however uncertain be the event, however hopeless be the trust. He that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/there-are-some-works-which-the-authors-must-consign-unpublished-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“To care means first of all to empty our own cup and to allow the other to come close to us. It means to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-j-m-nouwen/to-care-means-first-of-all-to-empty-our-own-cup-and-to-allow-the/) [Henri J.M. Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-j-m-nouwen/) > [“It is truly a marvel, but I tell you, hatred and love may live cramped together, crouching in the same heart. There are many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-t-anderson/it-is-truly-a-marvel-but-i-tell-you-hatred-and-love-may-live-cramped/) [M.T. Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-t-anderson/) > [I wanted to feel hatred and love, despair and tedium, all those simple, yet foolish things that make up everyday life but that give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-wanted-to-feel-hatred-and-love-despair-and-tedium-all-those-simple/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I have prayed for new men, fiery, reckless men, possessed of uncontrollably youthful passion-these lit by the Spirit of God. I have prayed for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-elliot/i-have-prayed-for-new-men-fiery-reckless-men-possessed-of/) [Jim Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-elliot/) > [Could you understand the meaning of light if there were no darkness to point the contrast? Day and night, life and death, love and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-goudge/could-you-understand-the-meaning-of-light-if-there-were-no-darkness-2/) [Elizabeth Goudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-goudge/) > [Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/hatred-paralyzes-life-love-releases-it/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) [Browse all 43 Hatred and love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hatred-and-love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is a curious subject of observation and inquiry, whether hatred and love be not the same thing at bottom. 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