--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Love is the piety of the affections." description: "\"Love is the piety of the affections.\" — Theodore Parker" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/theodore-parker-4457_affection_love-is-the-piety-of-the-affections-2549_2549774.png" --- # Love is the piety of the affections. ![“Love is the piety of the affections.” quote by Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/theodore-parker-4457_affection_love-is-the-piety-of-the-affections-2549_2549774.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/theodore-parker-4457_affection_love-is-the-piety-of-the-affections-2549_2549774.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/theodore-parker-4457_affection_love-is-the-piety-of-the-affections-2549_2549774.png) > “Love is the piety of the affections.” [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) ## 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 the deepest reverence we hold for our feelings. **In simple terms:** Love honors our emotions. Key Takeaway Treat love with respect and care. Themes love spirituality ethics Mood warm reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - marriage - friendship - parenting - community service Key Concepts piety affection devotion Questions to Reflect On - How do you express love responsibly? - What does reverence mean in daily relationships? A Different Perspective Love can be idealized, ignoring practical realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Affection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) [Affections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affections/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Piety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piety/) ## Related quotes > [When the swords flash let no idea of love, piety, or even the face of your fathers move you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-caesar/when-the-swords-flash-let-no-idea-of-love-piety-or-even-the-face-of/) [Julius Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-caesar/) > [Our affections, however laudable, in this transitory world, should never master us; we should guide them, guide them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/our-affections-however-laudable-in-this-transitory-world-should-never/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Caresses, expressions of one sort or another, are necessary to the life of the affections as leaves are to the life of a tree.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/caresses-expressions-of-one-sort-or-another-are-necessary-to-the-life/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Humid seal of soft affections, Tend'rest pledge of future bliss, Dearest tie of young connections, Love's first snow-drop, virgin kiss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-burns/humid-seal-of-soft-affections-tend-rest-pledge-of-future-bliss/) [Robert Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-burns/) > [That is the great mistake about the affections. It is not the rise and fall of empires, the birth and death of kings, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-barr/that-is-the-great-mistake-about-the-affections-it-is-not-the-rise-and/) [Amelia Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-barr/) > [The principle we call self-love never seeks anything external for the sake of the thing, but only as a means of happiness or good:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-butler/the-principle-we-call-self-love-never-seeks-anything-external-for-the/) [Joseph Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-butler/) > [When the affections so kindly break loose, Joy, is another name for Religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-sterne/when-the-affections-so-kindly-break-loose-joy-is-another-name-for/) [Laurence Sterne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-sterne/) > [A woman's whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world: it is there her ambition strives for empire; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-whole-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections-the-heart-is-her/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Temperance is corporeal piety; it is the preservation of divine order in the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/temperance-is-corporeal-piety-it-is-the-preservation-of-divine-order/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [We are too ready to imagine that we are religious, because we know something of religion. We appropriate to ourselves the pious sentiments we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/we-are-too-ready-to-imagine-that-we-are-religious-because-we-know/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [“Necessity is very often the mother of romance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/necessity-is-very-often-the-mother-of-romance/) [Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/) > [Virginians were no more angels or philanthropists than people to the north or to the south of them. They were moved by their affections,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sergeant-wise/virginians-were-no-more-angels-or-philanthropists-than-people-to-the/) [John Sergeant Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sergeant-wise/) > [A woman's whole life is a history of the affections. - Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-woman-s-whole-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections-washington-irving/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A woman's life is a history of the affections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [A difference of taste in jokes is a great strain on the affections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-difference-of-taste-in-jokes-is-a-great-strain-on-the-affections/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Theodore Parker > [That which is called liberality is frequently nothing more than the vanity of giving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/that-which-is-called-liberality-is-frequently-nothing-more-than-the/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Every man has at times in his mind the Ideal of what he should be, but is not. This ideal may be high and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/every-man-has-at-times-in-his-mind-the-ideal-of-what-he-should-be-but/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one. . . . But from what I see I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/i-do-not-pretend-to-understand-the-moral-universe-the-arc-is-a-long/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [For a thousand years no king in Christendom has shown such greatness or given so high a type of manly virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/for-a-thousand-years-no-king-in-christendom-has-shown-such-greatness/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Let us do our duty in our shop or our kitchen, in the market, the street, the office, the school, the home, just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/let-us-do-our-duty-in-our-shop-or-our-kitchen-in-the-market-the/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Temperance is corporeal piety; it is the preservation of divine order in the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/temperance-is-corporeal-piety-it-is-the-preservation-of-divine-order/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Science is the natural ally of religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/science-is-the-natural-ally-of-religion/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The lottery of honest labor, drawn by time, is the only one whose prizes are worth taking up and carrying home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/the-lottery-of-honest-labor-drawn-by-time-is-the-only-one-whose/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The joy of heaven will begin as soon as we attain the character of heaven, and do its duties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/the-joy-of-heaven-will-begin-as-soon-as-we-attain-the-character-of/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The books that help you the most are those which make you think the most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/the-books-that-help-you-the-most-are-those-which-make-you-think-the/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Mankind never loses any good thing, physical, intellectual, or moral, till it finds a better, and then the loss is a gain. No steps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/mankind-never-loses-any-good-thing-physical-intellectual-or-moral/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Manly natural religion - it is not joining the Church; it is not to believe in a creed, Hebrew, Protestant, Catholic, Trinitarian, Unitarian, Nothingarian.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/manly-natural-religion-it-is-not-joining-the-church-it-is-not-to/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [The books which help you most are those which make you think the most. The hardest way of learning is by easy reading; every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/the-books-which-help-you-most-are-those-which-make-you-think-the-most/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [What succeeds we keep, and it becomes the habit of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/what-succeeds-we-keep-and-it-becomes-the-habit-of-mankind/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) > [Wit has its place in debate; in controversy it is a legitimate weapon, offensive and defensive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/wit-has-its-place-in-debate-in-controversy-it-is-a-legitimate-weapon/) [Theodore Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) [Explore all 110 Theodore Parker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/) ## More Affection quotes > [My team and I have reunited two elements that coexist with diffiulty: respect and affection, because when they love you they don't respect you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shakira/my-team-and-i-have-reunited-two-elements-that-coexist-with-diffiulty/) [Shakira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shakira/) > [Needs cause motivation. Deep-rooted desires for esteem, affection, belonging, achievement, self-actualization, power, and control motivate us to push for what we want and need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorii-myers/needs-cause-motivation-deep-rooted-desires-for-esteem-affection/) [Lorii Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorii-myers/) > [“It is to build a house with affection, even as if your beloved were to dwell in that house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/it-is-to-build-a-house-with-affection-even-as-if-your-beloved-were-to/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [A lost love. Deny it who will, ridicule it, treat it as mere imagination and sentiment, the thing is and will be; and women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/a-lost-love-deny-it-who-will-ridicule-it-treat-it-as-mere-imagination/) [Dinah Maria Murlock Craik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-maria-murlock-craik/) > [Affection! Affection is false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-i/affection-affection-is-false/) [Elizabeth I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-i/) > [We are a spectacular, splendid manifestation of life. We have language. . . . We have affection. We have genes for usefulness, and usefulness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-a-spectacular-splendid-manifestation-of-life-we-have-language/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [Listen, I have a great affection and respect for Joe Biden. I think he's been a great vice president. He's taken on a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/listen-i-have-a-great-affection-and-respect-for-joe-biden-i-think-he/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [The still affection of the heart Became an outward breathing type, That into stillness past again, And left a want unknown before; Although the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-still-affection-of-the-heart-became-an-outward-breathing-type/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I am persuaded that there is no affection of the human heart more exquisitely pure, than that which is felt by a grateful son…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/i-am-persuaded-that-there-is-no-affection-of-the-human-heart-more/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [If you live in a material universe where acquiring things is very important to you, then family is an absolute deterrent to maintaining that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-taylor-gatto/if-you-live-in-a-material-universe-where-acquiring-things-is-very/) [John Taylor Gatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-taylor-gatto/) > [Our sweetest experiences of affection are meant to be suggestions of that realm which is the home of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-sweetest-experiences-of-affection-are-meant-to-be-suggestions-of/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“Georgia O’Keeffe moved to rural New Mexico, from which she would sign her letters to the people she loved, “from the faraway nearby.” It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-solnit/georgia-o-keeffe-moved-to-rural-new-mexico-from-which-she-would-sign/) [Rebecca Solnit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-solnit/) [Browse all 2,465 Affection quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/affection/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Love is the piety of the affections.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore Parker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/love-is-the-piety-of-the-affections/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Affection" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/love-is-the-piety-of-the-affections/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/theodore-parker-4457_affection_love-is-the-piety-of-the-affections-2549_2549774.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/theodore-parker-4457_affection_love-is-the-piety-of-the-affections-2549_2549774.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/84d/theodore-parker-4457_affection_love-is-the-piety-of-the-affections-2549_2549774.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Love is the piety of the affections.” — Theodore Parker", "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": "Theodore Parker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-parker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Love is the piety of the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/love-is-the-piety-of-the-affections/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-parker/love-is-the-piety-of-the-affections/#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 } } ] } ```