--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: How dreadful it is that because of our…" description: "\"How dreadful it is that because of our wills we can never love anything without messing it around! We couldn’t even love a tree, a stone even; for soon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/sylvia-townsend-warner-7063_bits_how-dreadful-it-is-that-because-of-our-w_310468.jpg" --- # How dreadful it is that because of our wills we can never… ![“How dreadful it is that because of our wills we can never love anything without messing it around! We couldn’t even love a tree, a stone even; for sooner or later we should be pruning the tree or chipping a bit off the stone.” quote by Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/sylvia-townsend-warner-7063_bits_how-dreadful-it-is-that-because-of-our-w_310468.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/sylvia-townsend-warner-7063_bits_how-dreadful-it-is-that-because-of-our-w_310468.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/301/sylvia-townsend-warner-7063_bits_how-dreadful-it-is-that-because-of-our-w_310468.jpg) > “How dreadful it is that because of our wills we can never love anything without messing it around! We couldn’t even love a tree, a stone even; for sooner or later we should be pruning the tree or chipping a bit off the stone.” [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human desire to control often corrupts pure affection, turning love into domination and alteration. **In simple terms:** Love gets twisted when we try to control it. Key Takeaway Allow love to be, not to be shaped. Themes control love imperfection human nature Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - environmental stewardship - personal growth - artistic creation Key Concepts philosophy psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - Do you ever try to change what you love? - How can we love without altering? A Different Perspective Control can be a protective instinct, not just a corrupting force. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Sooner or later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sooner-or-later/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) ## Related quotes > [I can cure the gout or stone in some, sooner than Divinity, Pride, or Avarice in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-browne/i-can-cure-the-gout-or-stone-in-some-sooner-than-divinity-pride-or/) [Thomas Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-browne/) > [I always love messing with my own hair as much as I can; I don't normally like to wear wigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-heder/i-always-love-messing-with-my-own-hair-as-much-as-i-can-i-don-t/) [Jon Heder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-heder/) > [So this is my apo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-gy-gy. You thought that you was gonna getting with me, me. So this is my apo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-gy cause I'm already in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-fresh/so-this-is-my-apo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-lo-gy-gy-you-thought-that-you-was/) [Aaron Fresh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-fresh/) > [I'm an active guy off the court, I love messing around and having fun with my friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brook-lopez/i-m-an-active-guy-off-the-court-i-love-messing-around-and-having-fun/) [Brook Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brook-lopez/) > [If he loved you with all the power of his soul for a whole lifetime, he couldn't love you as much as I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-he-loved-you-with-all-the-power-of-his-soul-for-a-whole-lifetime/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I swear I couldn’t love you more than I do right now, and yet I know I will tomorrow. — Leo Christopher”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-frank/i-swear-i-couldn-t-love-you-more-than-i-do-right-now-and-yet-i-know-i/) [Ella Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-frank/) > [“It would have to be. I already love you so much. I already feel like something in my chest is going to pop when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/it-would-have-to-be-i-already-love-you-so-much-i-already-feel-like/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [You are a son to me, that to my father I couldn't be. I love you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-are-a-son-to-me-that-to-my-father-i-couldn-t-be-i-love-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I fell in love with you because you loved me when I couldn't love myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn/i-fell-in-love-with-you-because-you-loved-me-when-i-couldn-t-love/) [Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn/) > [He was so good and honest. Why couldn't I love him instead?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbi-glines/he-was-so-good-and-honest-why-couldn-t-i-love-him-instead/) [Abbi Glines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbi-glines/) > [How could you Love other when you couldn't love yourself!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ong-kich/how-could-you-love-other-when-you-couldn-t-love-yourself/) [Ong Kich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ong-kich/) > [He loved her all he could; but he couldn't love her very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-crusie/he-loved-her-all-he-could-but-he-couldn-t-love-her-very-much/) [Jennifer Crusie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-crusie/) > [“When I first met you I couldn't love anyone But you stole my dreams and you made me see That I can walk into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goodbye-hootie-and-the-blowfish/when-i-first-met-you-i-couldn-t-love-anyone-but-you-stole-my-dreams/) Goodbye Hootie and the Blowfish > [“And I couldn’t love a lie anymore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-grace-bond/and-i-couldn-t-love-a-lie-anymore/) Katherine Grace Bond > [“She had decided that because she couldn't love her body, she would try to love what she put on it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-scelsa/she-had-decided-that-because-she-couldn-t-love-her-body-she-would-try/) Kate Scelsa ## More by Sylvia Townsend Warner > [One reason why my memory decays is that I have three cats, all so loving and insistent that they play cat's-cradle with every train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/one-reason-why-my-memory-decays-is-that-i-have-three-cats-all-so/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Happiness is an immunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/happiness-is-an-immunity/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [I feel domesticity just slipping off me. It is a choice. Either one can let it go or one can intensify it. The people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/i-feel-domesticity-just-slipping-off-me-it-is-a-choice-either-one-can/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [ \[On an anarchist acquaintance:\] Everything in appearance the most alarmist aunt could wish. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/on-an-anarchist-acquaintance-everything-in-appearance-the-most/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Spring is strictly sentimental, self-regarding; but I burn more careless in the autumn bonfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/spring-is-strictly-sentimental-self-regarding-but-i-burn-more/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [“It is,” answered Laura with almost violent agreement. “If you are a were-wolf, and very likely you may be, for lots of people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/it-is-answered-laura-with-almost-violent-agreement-if-you-are-a-were/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [I have an idea that conscience impedes quite as many merits as faults, is a sort of alloy, a nickel which may prevent silver…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/i-have-an-idea-that-conscience-impedes-quite-as-many-merits-as-faults/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [There is a period in one's life - perhaps not longer than six months - when one lives in two worlds at once ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/there-is-a-period-in-one-s-life-perhaps-not-longer-than-six-months/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Love is the only real patriation, and without one's dear one sits in a dreary and boring exile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/love-is-the-only-real-patriation-and-without-one-s-dear-one-sits-in-a/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [when the German propaganda tries to be winsome it is like a clown with homicidal mania - ludicrous and terrifying both at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/when-the-german-propaganda-tries-to-be-winsome-it-is-like-a-clown/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [It is best as one grows older to strip oneself of possessions, to shed oneself downward like a tree, to be almost wholly earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/it-is-best-as-one-grows-older-to-strip-oneself-of-possessions-to-shed/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Elizabeth ... had the prerogative of the rich that she could be generous with large sums and niggardly over small ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/elizabeth-had-the-prerogative-of-the-rich-that-she-could-be-generous/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Inflation is the senility of democracies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/inflation-is-the-senility-of-democracies/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [Total grief is like a minefield. No knowing when one will touch the tripwire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/total-grief-is-like-a-minefield-no-knowing-when-one-will-touch-the/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [about ten days ago I got started on a new book, and am completely, brazenly devoted to it: my hair is uncut, my letters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/about-ten-days-ago-i-got-started-on-a-new-book-and-am-completely/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) [Explore all 95 Sylvia Townsend Warner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) ## More Bits quotes > [ Brad \[Dourif\] would tell himself that he was not intentionally trying to mimic Jack Nicholson in any way. I think that actually bothers him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/brad-dourif-would-tell-himself-that-he-was-not-intentionally-trying/) [David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-became-a-bit-of-a-teacher-s-pet-and-it-became-known-in-the-school/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [The happy medium is television. And if you find a good suitor, you can do it for years. With movies, you roll the dice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-campbell/the-happy-medium-is-television-and-if-you-find-a-good-suitor-you-can/) [Bruce Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-campbell/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [He referred to me as an 'insufferable puffed-up prat'. This is a bit rich coming from a man who actually married his own mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-morrissey/he-referred-to-me-as-an-insufferable-puffed-up-prat-this-is-a-bit/) [Steven Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-morrissey/) > [It won't do you a bit of good to know everything if you don't do anything with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-fitzhugh/it-won-t-do-you-a-bit-of-good-to-know-everything-if-you-don-t-do/) [Louise Fitzhugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-fitzhugh/) > [I was told I had brain damage. I always knew it was an unfair label. Now I have a clearer understanding of what's wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-boyle/i-was-told-i-had-brain-damage-i-always-knew-it-was-an-unfair-label/) [Susan Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-boyle/) > [I think that's the beauty of the current setup, is that Legends is meant to be a bit of a revolving door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wentworth-miller/i-think-that-s-the-beauty-of-the-current-setup-is-that-legends-is/) [Wentworth Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wentworth-miller/) > [We, as pop stars, are people not androids. We’ve got views. I’ve got opinions and I don’t see why I shouldn’t use a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-meddows-taylor/we-as-pop-stars-are-people-not-androids-we-ve-got-views-i-ve-got/) [Roger Meddows Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-meddows-taylor/) > [In terms of style, too, I think I've been working with a somewhat limited -- although intentionally limited -- set of tools. So I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-link/in-terms-of-style-too-i-think-i-ve-been-working-with-a-somewhat/) [Kelly Link](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-link/) > [ Donald Trump has opened \[ politically correct enforcement\] up wide. He's made a very bold statement and he's backed it back just a little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/donald-trump-has-opened-politically-correct-enforcement-up-wide-he-s/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [When my name started popping up I was quite irritated and a little bit in shock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-snow/when-my-name-started-popping-up-i-was-quite-irritated-and-a-little/) [Michael Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-snow/) > [Don't get divorced after your first argument! I have a lot of friends that have one fight and that's it, they get divorced. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ripa/don-t-get-divorced-after-your-first-argument-i-have-a-lot-of-friends/) [Kelly Ripa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ripa/) Browse all 5,709 Bits quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How dreadful it is that because of our wills we can never love anything without messing it around! 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