You ask whether I have ever been in love: fool as I am, I am not such a fool as that. But if one is only to talk from first-hand experience, conversation would be a very poor business. But though I have no personal experience of the things they call love, I have what is better -- the experience of Sappho, of Euripides, of Catallus, of Shakespeare, of Spenser, of Austen, of Bronte, of anyone else I have read.

Summary

The quote emphasizes the belief that personal experience is not the only source of knowledge and understanding. The speaker acknowledges that they have not been in love themselves but argues that one can gain valuable insight through literature and the experiences portrayed by others. By referencing famous writers and poets such as Sappho, Euripides, Shakespeare, and Austen, the speaker suggests that their works offer a deeper understanding of love that surpasses personal experience alone.

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