--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He divided the inhabitants of this world…" description: "\"“He divided the inhabitants of this world into two groups, into those who had loved and those who had not. It was a horrible aristocracy, apparently, f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0b/thornton-wilder-1495_definition-of-love_he-divided-the-inhabitants-of-this-world_849759.jpg" --- # He divided the inhabitants of this world into two groups… ![“He divided the inhabitants of this world into two groups, into those who had loved and those who had not. It was a horrible aristocracy, apparently, for those who had no capacity for love (or rather for suffering in love) could not be said to be alive and certainly would not live again after their…” quote by Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0b/thornton-wilder-1495_definition-of-love_he-divided-the-inhabitants-of-this-world_849759.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0b/thornton-wilder-1495_definition-of-love_he-divided-the-inhabitants-of-this-world_849759.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0b/thornton-wilder-1495_definition-of-love_he-divided-the-inhabitants-of-this-world_849759.jpg) > ““He divided the inhabitants of this world into two groups, into those who had loved and those who had not. It was a horrible aristocracy, apparently, for those who had no capacity for love (or rather for suffering in love) could not be said to be alive and certainly would not live again after their death. They were a kind of straw population, filling the world with their meaningless laughter and tears and chatter and disappearing still lovable and vain into thin air. For this distinction he cultivated his own definition of love that was like no other and that had gathered all its bitterness and pride from his odd life. He regarded love as a sort of cruel malady through which the elect are required to pass in their late youth and from which they emerge, pale and wrung, but ready for the business of living. There was (he believed) a great repertory of errors mercifully impossible to human beings who had recovered from this illness. Unfortunately there remained to them a host of failings, but at least (from among many illustrations) they never mistook a protracted amiability for the whole conduct of life, they never again regarded any human being, from a prince to a servant, as a mechanical object.”” [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## 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 a painful, transformative experience that distinguishes the truly alive from those who merely exist. **In simple terms:** Love is a painful, transformative force that defines true life. Key Takeaway Embrace love’s challenges to grow. Themes love pain existence transformation philosophy Mood melancholic thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - relationships - personal growth - artistic expression Key Concepts human condition emotional depth existential meaning Questions to Reflect On - How does love shape your sense of being? - Can suffering be a catalyst for deeper living? A Different Perspective Not everyone experiences love in the same way; some may reject it. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Definition Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definition-love/) [Definition of love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definition-of-love/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Regarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-regarded-737675/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Love Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-suffering/) [Regarded Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regarded-love-737674/) [Suffering Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering-love/) ## Related quotes > [He regarded love as a sort of cruel malady through which the elect are required to pass in their late youth and from which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-regarded-love-as-a-sort-of-cruel-malady-through-which-the-elect/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Many are hurting for love, while many are suffering from a love that hurts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/many-are-hurting-for-love-while-many-are-suffering-from-a-love-that/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [“But we all suffer. For we all prize and love; and in this present existence of ours, prizing and loving yield suffering. Love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wolterstorff/but-we-all-suffer-for-we-all-prize-and-love-and-in-this-present/) [Nicholas Wolterstorff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wolterstorff/) > [“...there's the suffering from love and the suffering from grief - either pain permanently scars the soul...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/there-s-the-suffering-from-love-and-the-suffering-from-grief-either/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“As soon as I saw him again I could forget all this existed; I would be calm. Was that a definition of love: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-ohlin/as-soon-as-i-saw-him-again-i-could-forget-all-this-existed-i-would-be/) [Alix Ohlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-ohlin/) > [My definition of love is being full. Complete. It makes everything lighter. Beauty is something you see. Love is something you feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-tate/my-definition-of-love-is-being-full-complete-it-makes-everything/) [Sharon Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-tate/) > [“I love you, Lily. I fought so hard to be with you, and it was worth every smile, every tease, every bit of harassment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-rinella/i-love-you-lily-i-fought-so-hard-to-be-with-you-and-it-was-worth/) [Diane Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-rinella/) > [“That, Claire thought, was a pretty good definition of love: needing someone even after you got what you thought you wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/that-claire-thought-was-a-pretty-good-definition-of-love-needing/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [“...because love is continual interrogation. I don't know of a better definition of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/because-love-is-continual-interrogation-i-don-t-know-of-a-better/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Love is the feeling we get when we recognize the positive attributes in another. You have to continually and actively watch for the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-adam-hamilton/love-is-the-feeling-we-get-when-we-recognize-the-positive-attributes/) [Michael Adam Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-adam-hamilton/) > [Love is a continual interrogation. I don’t know of a better definition of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/love-is-a-continual-interrogation-i-don-t-know-of-a-better-definition/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [My definition of Love: You think someone likes you and then you start liking them back and soon they'reeverything you think about all day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-el-hallab/my-definition-of-love-you-think-someone-likes-you-and-then-you-start/) [Mahmoud El Hallab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-el-hallab/) > [If someone explains me the definition of love, I will give my life to the person. Love is a thing which is difficult to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randeep-hooda/if-someone-explains-me-the-definition-of-love-i-will-give-my-life-to/) [Randeep Hooda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randeep-hooda/) > [When I used to think about the definition of love, I used to think of having someone there for youand only that. But now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-person/when-i-used-to-think-about-the-definition-of-love-i-used-to-think-of/) [A Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-person/) > [“I admired how perfectly matched they seemed to be, and I started to wonder about my own, personal definition of love. Had it been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/i-admired-how-perfectly-matched-they-seemed-to-be-and-i-started-to/) [Morgan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-parker/) ## More by Thornton Wilder > [“He respected the slight nervous shadow that crossed her face when he came too near her. But there arose out of this denial itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/he-respected-the-slight-nervous-shadow-that-crossed-her-face-when-he/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure; when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/when-you-re-safe-at-home-you-wish-you-were-having-an-adventure-when/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Simon Stimson: "...That's what it was to be alive. To move about in a cloud of ignorance; to go up and down trampling on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/simon-stimson-that-s-what-it-was-to-be-alive-to-move-about-in-a-cloud/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Love as education is one of the great powers of the world, but it hangs in a delicate suspension; it achieves its harmony as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/love-as-education-is-one-of-the-great-powers-of-the-world-but-it/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-great-writers-have-been-extraordinarily-awkward-in-daily/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [A man looks pretty small at a wedding, George. All those good women standing shoulder to shoulder, making sure that the knot's tied in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/a-man-looks-pretty-small-at-a-wedding-george-all-those-good-women/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [The knowledge that she would never be loved in return acted upon her ideas as a tide acts upon cliffs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/the-knowledge-that-she-would-never-be-loved-in-return-acted-upon-her/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“But while they continued staring into one another’s face waiting for the miracle of science the pain grew worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/but-while-they-continued-staring-into-one-another-s-face-waiting-for/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [I am convinced that, except in a few extraordinary cases, one form or another of an unhappy childhood is essential to the formation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/i-am-convinced-that-except-in-a-few-extraordinary-cases-one-form-or/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Many who have spent a lifetime in it can tell us less of love than the child that lost a dog yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/many-who-have-spent-a-lifetime-in-it-can-tell-us-less-of-love-than/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Cesar is not a philosophical man. His life has been one long flight from reflection. At least he is clever enough not to expose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/cesar-is-not-a-philosophical-man-his-life-has-been-one-long-flight/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Every person who has ever lived has lived an unbroken succession of unique occasions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/every-person-who-has-ever-lived-has-lived-an-unbroken-succession-of/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [“Without your wounds where would your power be? It is your melancholy that makes your low voice tremble into the hearts of men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/without-your-wounds-where-would-your-power-be-it-is-your-melancholy/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [Ninety-nine per cent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in great danger of contagion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/ninety-nine-per-cent-of-the-people-in-the-world-are-fools-and-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) > [There's nothing like mixing with woman to bring out all the foolishness in a man of sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thornton-wilder/there-s-nothing-like-mixing-with-woman-to-bring-out-all-the/) [Thornton Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) [Explore all 232 Thornton Wilder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thornton-wilder/) ## More Definition of love quotes > [“I admired how perfectly matched they seemed to be, and I started to wonder about my own, personal definition of love. Had it been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/i-admired-how-perfectly-matched-they-seemed-to-be-and-i-started-to/) [Morgan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-parker/) > [Among the different expressions of love are friendship, dedication to a cause or to a person, the love of parents for their children, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meicee/among-the-different-expressions-of-love-are-friendship-dedication-to/) [Meicee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meicee/) > [“Some people wonder if abusers can feel love or affection for their targets. The answer to that depends on your own definition of love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-thomas/some-people-wonder-if-abusers-can-feel-love-or-affection-for-their/) [Shannon Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-thomas/) > [When I used to think about the definition of love, I used to think of having someone there for youand only that. But now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-person/when-i-used-to-think-about-the-definition-of-love-i-used-to-think-of/) [A Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-person/) > [Westboro would quote this passage from the book of Leviticus that, for them, shows that the definition of 'love thy neighbor' is to rebuke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-phelps-roper/westboro-would-quote-this-passage-from-the-book-of-leviticus-that-for/) [Megan Phelps-Roper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-phelps-roper/) > [Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/love-is-a-temporary-madness-it-erupts-like-an-earthquake-and-then-2/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [If someone explains me the definition of love, I will give my life to the person. Love is a thing which is difficult to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randeep-hooda/if-someone-explains-me-the-definition-of-love-i-will-give-my-life-to/) [Randeep Hooda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randeep-hooda/) > [My definition of Love: You think someone likes you and then you start liking them back and soon they'reeverything you think about all day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahmoud-el-hallab/my-definition-of-love-you-think-someone-likes-you-and-then-you-start/) [Mahmoud El Hallab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahmoud-el-hallab/) > [Love is a continual interrogation. I don’t know of a better definition of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/love-is-a-continual-interrogation-i-don-t-know-of-a-better-definition/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [I honestly was searching for some lines but, to express my love, there was nothing I could find... So, I thought, let me just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/preeti-vasdev/i-honestly-was-searching-for-some-lines-but-to-express-my-love-there/) [Preeti Vasdev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/preeti-vasdev/) > [“It just may be that the most radical act we can commit is to stay home. What does that mean to finally commit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/it-just-may-be-that-the-most-radical-act-we-can-commit-is-to-stay/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [Love is the feeling we get when we recognize the positive attributes in another. You have to continually and actively watch for the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-adam-hamilton/love-is-the-feeling-we-get-when-we-recognize-the-positive-attributes/) [Michael Adam Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-adam-hamilton/) > [“I'm in love with her,” I announced at double speed, hoping that saying it quickly might lessen the weight of its impact. He looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffanie-debartolo/i-m-in-love-with-her-i-announced-at-double-speed-hoping-that-saying/) [Tiffanie DeBartolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffanie-debartolo/) > [“...because love is continual interrogation. I don't know of a better definition of love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/because-love-is-continual-interrogation-i-don-t-know-of-a-better/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“That, Claire thought, was a pretty good definition of love: needing someone even after you got what you thought you wanted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/that-claire-thought-was-a-pretty-good-definition-of-love-needing/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) [Browse all 85 Definition of love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definition-of-love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He divided the inhabitants of this world into two groups, into those who had loved and those who had not. 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