What love is

I was surprised by the description of what love was. It made it sound like pure hell, which I guess is what it can feel like at times. There's so much insecurity involved such as "if he is ugly, he fears that she may despise his lack of beauty or may give her love to a more handsome man." That's insane from my perspective because I believe that personality and actions speak louder than looks. It's like an apple. It make look good on the outside, but once you bite into it, you can see the rot on the inside. People fear the exterior of themselves such as their homes, looks, wealth, etc. as if they define who they are and who will love them. How can you expect someone to love those things about you when you yourself don't?

There's another line that came off as sarcastic to me. "O what a wonderful thing is love, which makes a man shine with so many virtues and teaches everyone, no matter who he is, so many good traits of character!" It sounded like the writer was making a mockery of something he'd heard once before. Like love covers up the bad traits and only allows the good to shine through. He then refutes this when he discusses a man who is so passionate about love that he falls for every beautiful woman he meets. How is that love? Did they not know what lust was back when this was written? He compares them to animals who are only in it to screw around with the opposite sex whenever the opportunity presents itself. He even went so far as to say that there's no such thing as love between couples of the same sex because they would not be able to naturally procreate. So, now, you have to be able to have children in order for your love to be valid. That's how I interpreted it, anyway. This guy is all over the place about what love could be. These guidelines just aren't going to cut it. Love is painful and complicated, but it's also exhilarating and simple.