It is by loving, and not by being loved, that one can come nearest the soul of another; yea, that, where two love, it is the loving of each other that originates and perfects and assures their blessedness. I know that love gives to him that loveth, power over any soul, even if that soul know him not, bringing him inwardly close to that spirit; a power that cannot be but for good; for in proportion as selfishness intrudes, the love ceases, and the power which springs therefrom dies. Yet all love will, one day, meet with its return.
--George MacDonald in
Phantastes
