Love without hope, as when the young bird-catcher
Swept off his tall hat to the Squire's own daughter,
So let the imprisoned larks escape and fly
Singing about her head, as she rode by.
- Robert Graves
Love makes us do crazy things: let go of what we've worked so hard for (like the smitten bird-catcher) for the sake of the beloved; riches, time, even our own lives are given up joyfully in a selfless act of pleasing another. Love is the force which empowered martyrs to face the lion, the sword, the oppressor freely and unafraid. In choosing to stay and die, the martyr did not think of his own happiness -- no -- it was all for another. Love, even without hope of being returned, is one of the most beautiful capacities we have.
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