“Say, is not absence death to those who love?”

— Alexander Pope, Pastorals (1709), "Autumn"

About Alexander Pope

1688 – 1744

English poet, author of "An Essay on Criticism" and "The Rape of the Lock".

“To err is human, to forgive divine.”

“Men must be taught as if you taught them not, and things unknown propos'd as things forgot.”

“Years following years steal something ev'ry day. At last they steal us from ourselves away.”

“Death loves a shining mark, a signal blow.”

“Serve — and hate will die unborn. Love — and chains are broken.”

“Love is anterior to life, Posterior to death.”

“Without a mother, one cannot love. Without a mother, one cannot die.”

“If music be the food of love, play on.”

“Death, like generation, is a secret of Nature.”