« Foreword We would be exposed to disappointment by waiting for this book only easy recipes on the art of love. What we want to show is that love is not a feeling within anyone's reach: it depends on our level of maturity. Let the reader be convinced that all his efforts in this field are doomed to failure if he does not assiduously try to develop his personality for a productive orientation; that individual love cannot be a source of satisfaction if one is not able to love one's fellow human beings, if one lacks humility, courage, faith, true discipline. In a culture where these qualities are rare, an accomplished love must be exceptional: let us just ask ourselves how many truly loving people we have known. The difficult task is not a reason to refrain from exploring its difficulties and conditions of implementation. In order not to unnecessarily complicate matters, we have tried to deal with the problem in as little technical a language as possible and have kept a minimum of references to the literature on love. »

« He who knows nothing, loves nothing. He who is not capable of anything understands nothing. The one who doesn't understand anything is worthless. But the one who understands, this one loves, observes, sees.... The more we know about one thing, the greater the love.... Who imagines that all fruits ripen at the same time as strawberries know nothing about grapes. (Paracelse) »

« Love only really begins to flourish when it focuses on those who do not perform a function towards us. »