--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love is a madness produced by an…" description: "\"Love is a madness produced by an unsatisfiable rational desire to understand the ultimate truth about the world.\" — Plato" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/plato-103_desire_love-is-a-madness-produced-by-an-unsatis_3075428.jpg" --- # Love is a madness produced by an unsatisfiable rational… ![“Love is a madness produced by an unsatisfiable rational desire to understand the ultimate truth about the world.” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/plato-103_desire_love-is-a-madness-produced-by-an-unsatis_3075428.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/plato-103_desire_love-is-a-madness-produced-by-an-unsatis_3075428.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/plato-103_desire_love-is-a-madness-produced-by-an-unsatis_3075428.jpg) > “Love is a madness produced by an unsatisfiable rational desire to understand the ultimate truth about the world.” [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## 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 portrayed as an irrational passion driven by an unending rational desire to grasp ultimate truth. **In simple terms:** Love is irrational, seeking ultimate truth. Key Takeaway Seek truth while acknowledging love’s irrationality. Themes love irrationality truth‑seeking Mood contemplative philosophical Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - academic study - personal relationships - creative pursuits - spiritual inquiry Key Concepts philosophy metaphysics psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does love influence your quest for truth? - Can irrational love coexist with rational understanding? A Different Perspective May cause frustration when truth remains elusive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [Love Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-madness-1454604/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) [Madness Produced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness-produced-5222599/) [Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational/) [Rational Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational-desire-5222598/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Ultimate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate/) [Ultimate truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ultimate-truth/) [Unsatisfiable Rational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsatisfiable-rational-5222597/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Love should be madness if it's not then it not love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noxolo-zulu/love-should-be-madness-if-it-s-not-then-it-not-love/) [Noxolo Zulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noxolo-zulu/) > [Love is madness, and lust is poison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/love-is-madness-and-lust-is-poison/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [“Love is madness,” I say. “Doesn’t everyone agree that you’d do anything, endure anything, to be with the ones you love? So either you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosamund-hodge/love-is-madness-i-say-doesn-t-everyone-agree-that-you-d-do-anything/) [Rosamund Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosamund-hodge/) > [“Love is never enough. Madness is enough. It is complete, sufficient unto itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pinto/love-is-never-enough-madness-is-enough-it-is-complete-sufficient-unto-2/) [Jerry Pinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pinto/) > [love, which is a madness, and a scourge, and a fever, and a delusion, and a snare, is also a mystery, and very imperfectly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-braddon/love-which-is-a-madness-and-a-scourge-and-a-fever-and-a-delusion-and/) [Mary Elizabeth Braddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-braddon/) > [When love is not madness, it is not love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-love-is-not-madness-it-is-not-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Love is a madness; if thwarted it develops fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/love-is-a-madness-if-thwarted-it-develops-fast/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“Marcus turned his back to her. He feared that if he saw her face, it might weaken his resolve. Love was indeed a madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-mckeithen/marcus-turned-his-back-to-her-he-feared-that-if-he-saw-her-face-it/) [Jennifer McKeithen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-mckeithen/) > [I love fashion; I adore it. I love the madness of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeley-hawes/i-love-fashion-i-adore-it-i-love-the-madness-of-it/) [Keeley Hawes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keeley-hawes/) > [“Love is never enough. Madness is enough. It is complete, sufficient unto itself. You can only stand outside it as a woman might stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-pinto/love-is-never-enough-madness-is-enough-it-is-complete-sufficient-unto/) [Jerry Pinto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-pinto/) > [Love is madness, you can't put it in doses, it either surges over or under](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ville-valo/love-is-madness-you-can-t-put-it-in-doses-it-either-surges-over-or/) [Ville Valo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ville-valo/) > [“If the love is not madness, then the sex is not insane”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-stern/if-the-love-is-not-madness-then-the-sex-is-not-insane/) [Josh Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-stern/) > [“between love and madness lies obsession!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-oy/between-love-and-madness-lies-obsession/) [Andrew Oyé](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-oy/) > [So much love, too much love, it is our madness, it is rotting us out, exploding us like dandelion polls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/so-much-love-too-much-love-it-is-our-madness-it-is-rotting-us-out/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Love is madness, if thwarted it develops fast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/love-is-madness-if-thwarted-it-develops-fast/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More by Plato > [Each man is capable of doing one thing well. If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You may be sure, dear Crito, that inaccurate language is not only in itself a mistake: it implants evil in men's souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/you-may-be-sure-dear-crito-that-inaccurate-language-is-not-only-in/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/if-men-learn-this-it-will-implant-forgetfulness-in-their-souls-they/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/knowledge-which-is-acquired-under-compulsion-obtains-no-hold-on-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [I do not think it is permitted that a better man be harmed by a worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/i-do-not-think-it-is-permitted-that-a-better-man-be-harmed-by-a-worse/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/any-city-however-small-is-in-fact-divided-into-two-one-the-city-of/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so as nobody may believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-as-nobody-may-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“The love of man to woman is a thing common and of course, and at first partakes more of instinct and passion than of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-love-of-man-to-woman-is-a-thing-common-and-of-course-and-at-first/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“He was a wise man who invented God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/he-was-a-wise-man-who-invented-god/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [For let me tell you, that the more the pleasures of the body fade away, the greater to me is the pleasure and charm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/for-let-me-tell-you-that-the-more-the-pleasures-of-the-body-fade-away/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“What shall we say about those spectators, then, who can see a plurality of beautiful things, but not beauty itself, and who are incapable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/what-shall-we-say-about-those-spectators-then-who-can-see-a-plurality/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [When men speak ill of thee, live so that nobody will believe them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/when-men-speak-ill-of-thee-live-so-that-nobody-will-believe-them/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We must, if we are to be consistent, and if we re to have a real pedigree herd, mate the best of our men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/we-must-if-we-are-to-be-consistent-and-if-we-re-to-have-a-real/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) [Explore all 1,278 Plato quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) [Ted Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-martinez/) > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. All my life, people have scolded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/in-discovering-books-you-became-free-to-explore-the-full-range-of/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [I have never been in, nor have I had any strong particular desire to be in, what is termed a costume drama, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-freeman/i-have-never-been-in-nor-have-i-had-any-strong-particular-desire-to/) [Martin Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-freeman/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“from THE DEVIL YOU KNOW : She wanted him too. He could see it in the rapid rise of her breasts. He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love is a madness produced by an unsatisfiable rational desire to understand the ultimate truth about the world.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Plato" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/love-is-a-madness-produced-by-an-unsatisfiable-rational-desire-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Desire" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/love-is-a-madness-produced-by-an-unsatisfiable-rational-desire-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/plato-103_desire_love-is-a-madness-produced-by-an-unsatis_3075428.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/plato-103_desire_love-is-a-madness-produced-by-an-unsatis_3075428.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f6/plato-103_desire_love-is-a-madness-produced-by-an-unsatis_3075428.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Love is a madness produced by an unsatisfiable rational desire to understand the ultimate truth about the…” — Plato", "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": "Plato", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Love is a madness produced by...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/love-is-a-madness-produced-by-an-unsatisfiable-rational-desire-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/love-is-a-madness-produced-by-an-unsatisfiable-rational-desire-to/#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 } } ] } ```