“Monday 5 Things”™….. Letters of The Heart…..

Photo: D. Paul Graham, Letters of the Heart, artist Houston Llew Spiritiles, Charleston SC circa 2022

“Monday 5 Things”™….. Letters Of The Heart…..

The last time Valentine’s Day fell on a Monday was in 2011. I started writing M5T in November of that year, so this is the first time that Valentine’s Day has fallen on a M5T Monday. I will admit to being a romantic and a hopeless one at that. This morning’s M5T shares some of the most romantic letters and admissions of love that I enjoy reading and share with you to inspire the start of this Valentine’s Day.

1. Intoxicating Love

“I wake with thoughts of you. Your portrait and the intoxicating evening which we spent yesterday have left my senses in turmoil. Sweet, incomparable Josephine, what a strange effect you have on my heart! …. You are leaving at noon; I shall see you in three hours. Until then, mio dolce amor, a thousand kisses; but give me none in return, for they set my blood on fire.” ~ Napoleon Bonaparte to Josephine, 1795.

2. Never Surrender Your Love

“My darling Clemmi, In your letter from Madras you wrote some words very dear to me, about having enriched your life. I cannot tell you what pleasure this gave me, because I always feel to overwhelmingly in your debt, if there can be accounts of love…What it has been to me to live all these years in your heart and companionship no phrases can convey. Time passes swiftly, but is it not joyous to see how great and growing is the treasure we have gathered together, amid the storms and stresses of so many eventful and to millions tragic and terrible years? Your loving husband.” ~ Sir Winston Churchill to his wife Clementine, 1935

3. Les Contemplations d’Amour

“My dearest, when two souls, which have sought each other for, however long in the throng, have finally found each other…a union, fiery and pure as they themselves are… begins on earth and continues forever in heaven. This union is love, true love, which defies the love one, whose life comes from devotion and passion, and for which the greatest sacrifices are the sweetest delights. This is the love which you inspire in me… Your soul is make to love with the purity and passion of angels; but perhaps it can only love another angel, in which case I must tremble with apprehension. Yours forever.” ~ Victor Hugo to Adele Foucher, 1821

4. Pragma Love

“I am already love in you, your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious – your heart, your soul. Beauty one could get to know and fall in love with in one hour and cease to love it as speedily; but the soul one must learn to know. Believe me, nothing on earth is given without labour, even love, the most beautiful and natural of feelings.” Count Leo Tolstoy to his soon to be wife Sophia, 1856

5. Agape Love

“My golden child, my pearl, my precious stone, my crown, my queen, my empress. Your dear darling of my heart, my highest and most precious, my all and everything, my wife, the baptism of my children, my tragic play, my posthumous reputation Ach! You are my second better self, my virtues, my merits, my hope, the forgiveness of my sins, my future sanctity. O little daughter of heaven, my child of God, my intercessor, my guardian angel, my cherubim and seraph, how I love you.” ~ Henry von Kleist in 1810 to his wife Henriette Vogel before she died of cancer 1811.

Here’s to expressing and celebrating who you love today. Happy Valentine’s Day!

© 2022 D. Paul Graham, all rights reserved.

For over 10 years, D. Paul Graham has published “Monday 5 Things” ™, also known to readers as M5T ™.  Each Monday, Paul shares his observations, thoughts and passions on people, life, and culture.

You can find M5T each Monday here on www.southmag.com and by friending D. Paul Graham on Facebook. Paul is also a contributing photographer to South Magazine. His photographic work can be found on Instagram @dpgraham and at  www.imageGRAHAM.com . Your feedback is always welcome. Email Paul at dpg@imagegraham.com