---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love is of something, and that which love…"
description: "\"“Love is of something, and that which love desires is not that which love is or has; for no man desires that which he is or has. And love is of the bea..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/plato-103_and-love_love-is-of-something-and-that-which-love_2520574.jpg"
---

#  Love is of something, and that which love desires is not…

![“Love is of something, and that which love desires is not that which love is or has; for no man desires that which he is or has. And love is of the beautiful, and therefore has not the beautiful. And the beautiful is the good, and therefore, in wanting and desiring the beautiful, love also wants…” quote by Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/plato-103_and-love_love-is-of-something-and-that-which-love_2520574.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/plato-103_and-love_love-is-of-something-and-that-which-love_2520574.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/plato-103_and-love_love-is-of-something-and-that-which-love_2520574.jpg)

> ““Love is of something, and that which love desires is not that which love is or has; for no man desires that which he is or has. And love is of the beautiful, and therefore has not the beautiful. And the beautiful is the good, and therefore, in wanting and desiring the beautiful, love also wants and desires the good.””

[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 seeks what it lacks, desiring the beautiful and the good, which it does not possess.

**In simple terms:** Love wants what it does not have.

Key Takeaway

Recognize desire’s limits.

Themes

philosophy desire beauty good love

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- romantic relationships
- artistic creation
- personal growth
- spiritual practice

Key Concepts

Platonic love metaphysics ethics

Questions to Reflect On

- What does it mean to love something you cannot have?
- Can love be fulfilled without possession?

A Different Perspective

Love cannot possess its object; desire may be unattainable.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[And love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/and-love/) [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beautiful love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful-love/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desires Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desires-love-1245250/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-desires-986932/) [Love is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-is/) [Love Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-wants/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Wanting Desiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting-desiring-1245251/) [Wants and desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wants-and-desires/)

## Related quotes

> [“Love wants more truth, because that will lead to more love, and that is what love desires, more of itself. Love loves Love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padma-aon-prakasha/love-wants-more-truth-because-that-will-lead-to-more-love-and-that-is/)

[Padma Aon Prakasha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padma-aon-prakasha/)

> [All plot comes from the character's trying to get something, to achieve something, wanting, desiring, longing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-olen-butler/all-plot-comes-from-the-character-s-trying-to-get-something-to/)

[Robert Olen Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-olen-butler/)

> [It is evident that the right of acquiring and possessing property, and having it protected, is one of the natural, inherent, and unalienable rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-paterson/it-is-evident-that-the-right-of-acquiring-and-possessing-property-and/)

[William Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-paterson/)

> [Just because you married doesn't mean you're not an individual person with your own wants and desires and needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-swanberg/just-because-you-married-doesn-t-mean-you-re-not-an-individual-person/)

[Joe Swanberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-swanberg/)

> [Characters are story. And any great plot or subplot is driven by the characters' wants and desires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gregory-browne/characters-are-story-and-any-great-plot-or-subplot-is-driven-by-the/)

[Robert Gregory Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gregory-browne/)

> [In the states we all have this idea, everyone who wants to be the next best singer, next best dancer. Those same wants and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parvesh-cheena/in-the-states-we-all-have-this-idea-everyone-who-wants-to-be-the-next/)

[Parvesh Cheena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parvesh-cheena/)

> [Love is not what our desires wants, but love is with experiences that you had with the person that is what love really means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-not-what-our-desires-wants-but-love-is-with-experiences-that/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Most software has a tiny essence that justifies its existence, everything after that is wants and desires mistaken for needs and necessities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-heinemeier-hansson/most-software-has-a-tiny-essence-that-justifies-its-existence/)

[David Heinemeier Hansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-heinemeier-hansson/)

> [So long as there is desire or want, it is a sure sign that there is imperfection. A perfect, free being cannot have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/so-long-as-there-is-desire-or-want-it-is-a-sure-sign-that-there-is/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [Make a list of your current wants and desires. Next to each, put down what benefit or payoff there would be when you achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/make-a-list-of-your-current-wants-and-desires-next-to-each-put-down/)

[Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/)

> [Love desires to give even at the expense of self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-louis/love-desires-to-give-even-at-the-expense-of-self/)

[Edward Louis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-louis/)

> [The price of love is only love, ... one must love if one desires to be loved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honore-d-urfe/the-price-of-love-is-only-love-one-must-love-if-one-desires-to-be/)

[Honore d'Urfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honore-d-urfe/)

> [Love is not what our desires wants,but love is with experiences ad how much you spend with that person that is what really love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-not-what-our-desires-wants-but-love-is-with-experiences-ad/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When you come to analyze the love of money which was the general impulse to effort in your day, you find that the dread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bellamy/when-you-come-to-analyze-the-love-of-money-which-was-the-general/)

[Edward Bellamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bellamy/)

> [So at a time in which the media give the public everything it wants and desires, maybe art should adopt a much more aggressive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/so-at-a-time-in-which-the-media-give-the-public-everything-it-wants/)

[Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/)

## 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 And love quotes

> [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/)

[Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/)

> [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/)

[Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/)

> [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/)

[Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/)

> [There are few husbands whom the wife cannot win in the long run, by patience and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-of-valois/there-are-few-husbands-whom-the-wife-cannot-win-in-the-long-run-by/)

[Margaret of Valois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-of-valois/)

> [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/)

[Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/)

> [We'll walk together holding hands, and kiss in broad daylight, and love each other as much as we want to, and no one will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-ll-walk-together-holding-hands-and-kiss-in-broad-daylight-and-love/)

[Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/)

> [Anyone who knows me knows that I am really into hair. I'm a real girly girl and love doing my hair and experimenting with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/anyone-who-knows-me-knows-that-i-am-really-into-hair-i-m-a-real-girly/)

[Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/)

> [“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-our-battles-and-open-our-heart-to-things-as-they/)

[Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/)

> [Only when man succeeds in developing his reason and love further than he has done so far, only when he can build a world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/only-when-man-succeeds-in-developing-his-reason-and-love-further-than/)

[Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/)

> [I shall pray God to send charity into this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-shall-pray-god-to-send-charity-into-this-hideous-world-and-sympathy/)

[John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/)

> [And I read the moral--A brave endeavour To do thy duty, whate'er its worth, Is better than life with love forever, And love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeffrey-roche/and-i-read-the-moral-a-brave-endeavour-to-do-thy-duty-whate-er-its/)

[James Jeffrey Roche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeffrey-roche/)

> [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/)

[Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/)

> [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/)

[Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/)

> [I rejoice that the reign of Christ is such, while it thrills the soul with emotions, and opens before the highest intellect the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-simpson/i-rejoice-that-the-reign-of-christ-is-such-while-it-thrills-the-soul/)

[Matthew Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-simpson/)

> [If you abide in the love of Christ, rooted in the faith, you will encounter, even amid setbacks and suffering, the source of true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/if-you-abide-in-the-love-of-christ-rooted-in-the-faith-you-will/)

[Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/)

[Browse all 2,635 And love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/and-love/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Love is of something, and that which love desires is not that which love is or has; for no man desires that which he is or has. And love is of the beautiful, and therefore has not the beautiful. And the beautiful is the good, and therefore, in wanting and desiring the beautiful, love also wants and desires the good.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Plato"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/love-is-of-something-and-that-which-love-desires-is-not-that-which/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "And love"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/love-is-of-something-and-that-which-love-desires-is-not-that-which/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/plato-103_and-love_love-is-of-something-and-that-which-love_2520574.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/plato-103_and-love_love-is-of-something-and-that-which-love_2520574.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/plato-103_and-love_love-is-of-something-and-that-which-love_2520574.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Love is of something, and that which love desires is not that which love is or has; for no man desires that…” — 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 of something, and that...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/love-is-of-something-and-that-which-love-desires-is-not-that-which/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/love-is-of-something-and-that-which-love-desires-is-not-that-which/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
