Any good passages from philosophers about love or happiness suitable for a reading at a wedding ceremony?

Answer 1

You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.

You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.

Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.

But let there be spaces in your togetherness,

And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.

For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.

And stand together, yet not too near together:

For the pillars of the temple stand apart,

And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

~ Kahlil Gibran " On Marriage"


When love beckons to you follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.

And when his wings enfold you yield to him,

Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.

And when he speaks to you believe in him,

Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.

Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,

So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.

He threshes you to make you naked.

He sifts you to free you from your husks.

He grinds you to whiteness.

He kneads you until you are pliant;

And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,

Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,

Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.

Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;

For love is sufficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God."

And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love;

And to bleed willingly and joyfully.

To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;

To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;

To return home at eventide with gratitude;

And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

~ Kahlil Gibran " On Love"

Answer 2

Love never seizes to amaze itself, about innocence and the necessary little bit of calculation, bringing two lovers together in (people 's concsious choice) , other fall for the Holy bullshit in a Matrimonial agreement, not to part with eachother in an ongoing contract, that commits you to eachother, for ...... time.
The vast amount of divorces, that been growing for years, warrant Love can change into a natural separator, as attracted you once were then, meaning now, you feel completely committed towards making vows perhaps that involve eternity's presence as whitness.... (This you can't do in U.S. because she's Dutch like myself.....) (quite fond of this one myself)

Eternity is a long time in an imagination beyond time, therefore may not prevent Love, while nobody has a clue if, there was an ending or when the beginning went by.......

Perhaps we were some yeast in the bottom of someone's test tube after the Tesla experiment finely caught hold. Finaly sanity is another way of Marriage, that involves a lot of laughter, as long as it doesn't sound hollow....

Answer 3

"It is much easier to be critical than correct."
Benjamin Disraeli

Maybe it's not so great for a wedding ceremony, but something to keep in mind for after the wedding. ;-)

Check out "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran. There are many, many excellent passages in there perfect for weddings, and family life in general.

Answer 4

The best and most appropriate readings for a western wedding you can find are contained in the Songs of Solomon in the Bible.

Answer 5

No.

I can't stress enough that philosophers don't know what the hell love is.

Confer the poets.

Stay the F away from philosophers

Answer 6

No!