A kiss is a contact, a union, an exchange. It is unknown to certain races and tribes, while others know it and consider it with disgust. They all suffer a loss. A kiss can be a cold formula, or a token of familial relationship or a prelude to the act of love. It can also be a revelation in an unspoken, secret language of feelings that have never been expressed in words.
Harry Harrison (1925-2012) American author [b. Henry Maxwell Dempsey]
The Jupiter Plague, ch. 9 (1982)
(Source)
The same phrase occurs in the "shorter and substantially different" earlier Plague from Space, ch. 9 (1965).
Quotations about:
kissing
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
What is a Kiss? Alacke! at worst,
A single Dropp to quenche a Thirst,
Tho’ oft it prooves in happie Hour,
The first swete Dropp of one long Showre.Charles Godfrey Leland (1824-1903) American humorist, journalist, folklorist
“In the Old Time,” st. 4, The Music-Lesson of Confucius (1872)
(Source)
Kisses kept are wasted;
Love is to be tasted.
There are some you love, I know;
Be not loath to tell them so.
Lips go dry and eyes grow wet
Waiting to be warmly met,
Keep them not in waiting yet;
Kisses kept are wasted.Edmund Vance Cooke (1866-1932) Canadian poet
“Kisses Kept Are Wasted,” ll. 1-9, Little Songs for Two (1909)
(Source)
Then kiss me, sweet, while kiss we may.
A thousand kisses, hundreds then.
And straightway we’ll begin again —
Another thousand, hundreds more.
And still a thousand as before.
Till hundred thousands we shall kiss.
And lose all count in drunken bliss,
Lest green-eyed envy, in dull spite,
Should steal away our deep delight.
[Da mi basia mille, deinde centum,
dein mille altera, dein secunda centum,
deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum,
dein, cum milia multa fecerimus,
conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus,
aut ne quis malus invidere possit,
cum tantum sciat esse basiorum.]Catullus (c. 84 BC – c. 54 BC) Latin poet [Gaius Valerius Catullus]
Carmina # 5 “To Lesbia,” ll. 8-14 [tr. Stewart (1915)]
(Source)
One of Catulllus' most popular and widely-translated poems.
(Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:Then let amorous kisses dwell
On our lips, begin and tell
A thousand, and a Hundred score,
An Hundred and a Thousand more,
Till another Thousand smother
That, and that wipe off another.
Thus at last when we have numbred
Many a Thousand, many a Hundred,
We'll confound the reckoning quite,
And lose ourselves in wild delight:
While our joyes so multiply
As shall mocke the envious eye.
[tr. Crashaw (1648)]Give me, then, a thousand kisses,
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Till the sum of boundless blisses
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Neither we nor envy know.
[tr. Langhorne (c. 1765)]Then first a thousand kisses give,
An hundred let me next receive,
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Another thousand yet;
To these a second hundred join,
Still be another thousand mine,
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
An hundred then repeat:
Such countless thousands let there be,
Sweetly confus'd ; that even we
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
May know not the amount;
That envy, so immense a store
Beholding, may not have the pow'r
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Each various kiss to count.
[tr. Nott (1795)]Then come, with whom alone I'll live,
A thousand kisses take and give!
Another thousand! to the store
Add hundreds -- then a thousand more!
And when they to a million mount,
Let confusion take the account, --
That you, the number never knowing,
May continue still bestowing
That I for joys may never pine,
Which never can again be mine!
[tr. Coleridge (1798)]Give me kisses thousand-fold,
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Add to them a hundred more;
Other thousands still be told
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Other hundreds o'er and o'er.
But, with thousands when we burn,
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Mix, confuse the sums at last,
That we may not blushing learn
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
All that have between us past.
None shall know to what amount
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Envy's due for so much bliss;
None -- for none shall ever count
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
All the kisses we will kiss.
[tr. Lamb (1821)]Give me then a thousand kisses,
Add a hundred to my blisses,
Then a thousand more, and then
Add a hundred once again.
Crown me with a thousand more,
Give a hundred as before,
Then kiss on without cessation,
Till we lose all calculation,
And no envy mar our blisses,
Hearing of such heaps of kisses.
[tr. T. Martin (1861)]Then, charmer mine, with lip divine!
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Give me a thousand kisses;
A hundred then, then hundreds ten,
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Then other hundred blisses.
Lip thousands o'er, sip hundreds more
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
With panting ardour breathing;
Fill to the brim love's cup, its rim
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
With rosy blossoms wreathing.
We'll mix them then, lest to our ken
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Should come our store of blisses,
Or envious wight should know, and blight
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
So many honey' d kisses.
[tr. Cranstoun (1867)]Thousand kisses, anon to these an hundred,
Thousand kisses again, another hundred,
Thousand give me again, another hundred.
Then once heedfully counted all the thousands,
We'll uncount them as idly; so we shall not
Know, nor traitorous eye shall envy, knowing
All those myriad happy many kisses.
[tr. Ellis (1871)]Kiss me a thousand times, then hundred more,
Then thousand others, then a new five-score,
Still other thousand other hundred store.
Last when the sums to many thousands grow,
The tale let's trouble till no more we know,
Nor envious wight despiteful shall misween us
Knowing how many kisses have been kissed between us.
[tr. Burton (1893)]Give me a thousand kisses, and then a hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred, then another thousand without resting, then a hundred. Then, when we have made many thousands, we will confuse the count lest we know the numbering, so that no one can cast an evil eye on us through knowing the number of our kisses.
[tr. Smithers (1894)]Come, in yonder nook reclining,
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Where the honeysuckle climbs,
Let us mock at Fate's designing,
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Let us kiss a thousand times!
And if they shall prove too few, dear,
When they're kissed we'll start anew, dear!
And should any chance to see us,
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Goodness! how they'll agonize!
How they'll wish that they could be us,
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Kissing in such liberal wise!
Never mind their envious whining;
Come, my Lesbia, no repining!
[tr. Field (1896)]Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred, then yet another thousand, then a hundred. Then, when we have made up many thousands, we will confuse our counting, that we may not know the reckoning, nor any malicious person blight them with evil eye, when he knows that our kisses are so many.
[tr. Warre Cornish (1904)]Give me then a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred, then still another thousand, then one more hundred, then when we have had many a thousand, let us jostle them up, so that we may not keep count and no jealous-eyed person may envy us, knowing the number of our kisses.
[tr. Stuttaford (1912)]Then oh my Lesbia!
Live and love!
Quick to my arms, and quick to my heart!
A thousand kisses!
Ten thousand kisses!
Have done with a million! Then start
Again; for I fear
Some wretch may envy us, dear,
[tr. Dement (1915)]Come then , give me of kisses now a hundred,
Then a thousand and then yet hundreds other;
When our kisses their many thousands measure,
Blot the score out and reckon it as nothing,
Lest some evil eye paralyse our pleasure,
Seeing jealously such a wealth of loving.
[tr. Symons-Jeune (1923)]A thousand kisses, then five score,
A thousand and a hundred more,
Then one for each you gave before.
Then, as the many thousands grow,
We'll wreck the counting lest we know,
Or lest an evil eye prevail
Through knowledge of the kisses' tale.
[tr. MacNaghten (1925)]Let me a hundred kisses take
And then of them a thousand make,
A hundred and a thousand more
Repeated twice shall swell the score.
But when to thousands we shall get,
We will the reckoning upset;
That none may envy us our bliss
Knowing the number of each kiss.
[tr. Wright (1926)]Twice ten thousand more bestow,
Give me a thousand kisses,
then a hundred, another thousand,
another hundred
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
and in one breath
still kiss another thousand,
another hundred.
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
O then with lips and bodies joined
many deep thousands;
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
confuse
their number
Twice ten thousand more bestow,
so that poor fools and cuckolds (envious
even now) shall never
learn our wealth and curse us
with their
evil eyes.
[tr. Gregory (1931)]Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred,
another thousand next, another hundred,
a thousand without pause & then a hundred,
until when we have run up our thousands
we will cry bankrupt, hiding our assets
from ourselves & any who would harm us,
knowing the volume of our trade in kisses.
[tr. C. Martin (1979)]Give me a thousand kisses, a hundred more,
another thousand, and another hundred,
and, when we’ve counted up the many thousands,
confuse them so as not to know them all,
so that no enemy may cast an evil eye,
by knowing that there were so many kisses.
[tr. Kline (2001)]Give me a thousand kisses, then another hundred,
then another thousand, then a second hundred,
then yet another thousand more, then another hundred.
Then, when we have made many thousands,
we will mix them all up so that we don't know,
and so that no one can be jealous of us when he finds out
how many kisses we have shared.
[tr. Negenborn (1997)]Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred,
then a thousand more, a second hundred,
then yet another thousand then a hundred
then when we've notched up all these many thousands,
shuffle the figures, lose count of the total,
so no maleficent enemy can hex us
knowing the final sum of all our kisses.
[tr. Green (2005)]So kiss me, Sweet, and kiss me plenty:
First a thousand, then a hundred kisses;
Then catch your breath and kiss me more:
Another thousand, another hundred,
Still thousands yet till we've lost all count
And must begin again, keeping
Envious others guessing the sum
Of how many kisses much we love.
[tr. Hager (2006)]Give me a thousand kisses and then a hundred,
then another thousand and a second hundred,
And even then another thousand, a hundred more.
When we’ve had so many thousands,
we will mix them together so we don’t know,
so that no wicked man can feel envy
when he knows what a number of kisses there’ve been.
[tr. @sentantiq (2015)]Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred,
then a thousand others, then a second hundred,
then up to a thousand others, then a hundred.
Then, when we have made many thousands,
we will mix them up, lest we should know,
--or lest any evil person should be able to envy us
when he knows--how many kisses there are.
[tr. Wikibooks (2017)]Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred,
then another thousand, then a second hundred,
then immediately a thousand then a hundred.
then, when we will have made many thousand kisses,
we will throw them into confusion, lest we know,
or lest anyone bad be able to envy
when he knows there to be so many kisses.
[tr. Wikisource (2018)]
Give me a kiss, and to that kiss a score;
Then to that twenty, add a hundred more:
A thousand to that hundred: so kiss on,
To make that thousand up a million.
Treble that million, and when that is done,
Let’s kiss afresh, as when we first begun.
Strephon kissed me in the spring,
Robin in the fall,
But Colin only looked at me
And never kissed at all.Strephon’s kiss was lost in jest,
Robin’s lost in play,
But the kiss in Colin’s eyes
Haunts me night and day.
The kiss can be a comma, a question mark, or an exclamation point.
Mistinguett (1873-1956) French actress singer, dancer [b. Jeanne Florentine Bourgeois]
In Theatre Arts (1955-12)
BENJY: The kiss. There are all sorts of kisses, lad, from the sticky confection to the kiss of death. Of them all, the kiss of an actress is the most unnerving. How can we tell if she means it or if she’s just practicing?
Ruth Gordon (1896-1985) American actress, screenwriter, playwright
The Leading Lady, Act 2 (1948)
(Source)
LUCY: When young at the Bar you first taught me to score,
And bid me be free of my Lips, and no more;
I was kiss’d by the Parson, the Squire, and the Sot,
When the Guest was departed, the Kiss was forgot.
But his Kiss was so sweet, and so closely he prest,
That I languish’d and pin’d till I granted the rest.John Gay (1685-1732) English poet and playwright
The Beggar’s Opera, Act 3, sc. 1, Air 40 (1728)
(Source)
The kiss originated when the first male reptile licked the first female reptile, implying in a subtle, complimentary way that she was as succulent as the small reptile he had for dinner the night before.
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940) American writer [Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald]
Notebook E “Epigrams, Wisecracks and Jokes,” § 436 (1932-1940)
Originally collected in Edmund Wilson, ed., The Crack-Up (1945), then in the unexpurgated Matthew Bruccoli, ed., Notebooks of F. Scott Fitzgerald (1978).
A kiss, when all is said, what is it?
An oath sworn nearer by; a promise made
With greater certainty; a vow which seeks
To make itself more binding; a rosy dot
Placed on the ‘I’ in loving; ’tis a secret
Told to the mouth instead of to the ear;
A moment of the infinite, which makes
A sound like to the humming of bees’s wings;
A greeting like the sweet breath of a flower;
A way to feel the heart beat for a space,
And taste the soul a moment on the lips.[Un baiser, mais à tout prendre, qu’est-ce?
Un serment fait d’un peu plus près, une promesse
Plus précise, un aveu qui veut se confirmer,
Un point rose qu’on met sur l’i du verbe aimer;
C’est un secret qui prend la bouche pour oreille,
Un instant d’infini qui fait un bruit d’abeille,
Une communion ayant un goût de fleur,
Une façon d’un peu se respirer le cœur,
Et d’un peu se goûter, au bord des lèvres, l’âme!]Edmond Rostand (1868-1918) French playwright
Cyrano de Bergerac, Act 3, sc. 10 [Cyrano to Roxane] (1897) [tr. Kingsbury (1898)]
(Source)
Scene 9 in many translations. (Source (French)). Alternate translations:After all, what is a kiss?
An oath that's given closer than before;
A promise more precise; the sealing of
Confessions that till then were barely breathed;
A ruby O to spell the verb: I love!
A secret that's confided to a mouth
And not to ears; a precious moment of
Infinity that buzzes like a bee;
Communion with the fragrance flowers have;
A gentle way for heart to breathe a heart,
For soul from fervid lips to drink a soul!
[tr. Reynauld (1898)]A kiss! When all is said, what is a kiss? An oath of allegiance taken in closer proximity, a promise more precise, a seal on a confession, a rose-red dot upon the letter i in loving; a secret which elects the mouth for ear; an instant of eternity murmuring like a bee; balmy communion with a flavor of flowers; a fashion of inhaling each other’s heart, and of tasting, on the brink of the lips, each other’s soul!
[tr. Hall (1898)]A kiss, when all is said, -- what is it?
An oath that's ratified, -- a sealèd promise,
A heart's avowal claiming confirmation, --
A rose-dot on the "i" of "adoration," --
A secret that to month, not ear, is whispered, --
Brush of a bee's wing, that makes time eternal, --
Communion perfumed like the spring's wildflowers, --
The heart's relieving in the heart's outbreathing,
When to the lips the soul's flood rises, brimming!
[tr. Thomas / Guillemard (1898)]And what is a kiss, when all is done?
A promise given under seal -- a vow
Taken before the shrine of memory --
A signature acknowledged -- a rosy dot
Over the i of Loving -- a secret whispered
To listening lips apart -- a moment made
Immortal, with a rush of wings unseen --
A sacrament of blossoms, a new song
Sung by two hearts to an old simple tune --
The ring of one horizon around two souls
Together, all alone!
[tr. Hooker (1923)]What is a kiss that you should fear it?
It is the instant when the body and spirit
meet, and in some divine alembic stirred
merge their two virtues in a lovelier third.
It is the interchange of sun and rose,
whose gold in heaven to earth its fragrance owes;
time, as it darkly passes over, lit
with the brief radiance of the infinite.
It is God's shadow silencing the heart.
[tr. Wolfe (1941)]How
Shall we define a kiss? The sacrament of a vow,
The lightly stamped seal of a promise, the endorsement of
A promissory note on the bank of love,
The very O of love in the expectant lips,
Eternity in the instant the bee sips,
The music of the spheres on the lark’s wing,
A flower-tasting eucharist, a ring
Forged of two rings, red alchemized to gold.
[tr. Burgess (1971)]After all, what is a kiss? A vow made at closer range, a more precise promise, a confession that contains its own proof, a seal placed on a pact that has already been signed; it’s a secret told to the mouth rather than to the ear, a fleeting moment filled with the hush of eternity, a communion that has the fragrance of a flower, a way of living by the beat of another heart, and tasting another soul on one’s lips!
[tr. Bair (1972)]A kiss, what is it, after all?
The simple witness to a lover's will,
The seal that makes a promise ratified,
The longing-to-be-home half-gratified,
An unheard secret whispered to the mouth,
Coming upon the heart like the sweet south.
A claim, a gift, nature's communion-cup --
[tr. Fry (1975)]And then, what is a kiss when all is said and done?
The seal fixed upon a promise given one to one,
a moment made immortal with a rush of unseen wings,
a new song to an old and simple tune, that one heart sings
to another, and a sacrament of blossoms, too.
[tr. Kornhauser (2003)]Do you understand the significance of a kiss?
It’s the embowerment of a loved face,
a gift more closely given, a more precise
promise, a token of what is still to come,
the pit and pith, a silent honeycomb,
a secret for the lips, not for the ears,
an infinity of briefly buzzing stars
in the plant-textured, moist interior,
the private eucharist of a crimson flower,
a warm glade where love can tell its truth
and drink the hot soul from the open mouth.
[tr. Mahon (2004)]A kiss! What is a kiss? A confession
Made from a little closer at hand, a promise
Delivered as soon as it's made,
A secret whispered close, with a mouth to hear it:
Eternity held in a moment that stings like a bee.
Passed like communion, a host with the scent of flowers,
a way to breathe the breath of the heart of another
And with one's lips to sip the beloved one's soul.
[tr. Clark (2005), l. 329ff]A kiss, when all is said and done -- what is it?
Just the confirmation of an oath, sealing of a promise,
the confirmation of the promise of the heart,
a little pink dot on the "i" of "adoration,"
sharing a secret between mouths, not ears,
the brush of a bee's wing, that makes time eternal,
as mingling that smells like the wildflowers of spring,
relieving the heart by letting it breathe,
letting the lisp rise to drink from the soul!
[BookCaps ed.]When all is said and done, what is a kiss? It's simply an oath made more certain, a sealed promise, the heart's confirmation of a pact. It's a secret whispered to the mouth instead of the ear, a stolen moment that makes time eternal, a communion perfumed like the spring's wild flowers. A kiss allows for one to live through the beating of another's heart, and to taste the very soul of another on one's lips!
[Source]
How little it takes to make life perfect! A good sauce, a cocktail after a hard day, a girl who kisses with her mouth half open!
H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
A Little Book in C Major, ch. 4, § 21 (1916)
(Source)
ZORYA POLUNOCHNAYA: Kissing is disgusting. But in a nice way, like bleu cheese or brandy.
Bryan Fuller (b. 1969) American screenwriter, television producer
American Gods, 1×03 “Head Full of Snow” (2017-05-14) [with Michael Green]
(Source)
This line does not appear in the original novel by Neil Gaiman.
Whoever named it necking was a poor judge of anatomy.
Groucho Marx (1890-1977) American comedian [b. Julius Henry Marx]
(Attributed)
HARRIS: Forget for this moment smog, cars, a restaurant, skating — remember only this: a kiss may not be the truth, but it is what we wish were true.
Steve Martin (b. 1945) American comedian, actor, writer, producer, musician
L. A. Story (1991)
The above text is what is actually said in the movie. Most sources, including IMDb, use a slightly longer form of the quote, possibly from the script.Forget for this moment the smog and the cars and the restaurant and the skating and remember only this. A kiss may not be the truth, but it is what we wish were true.
Were kisses all the joys in bed,
One woman would another wed.William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
In William Jaggard, ed., The Passionate Pilgrim, Part 2 “Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music,” No. 19 “When as thine eye hath chose the dame,” l. 345-46 (1599)
(Source)
Though Jaggard claimed all the poems in the collection were by Shakespeare, most of them (including this one) are not generally considered to actually be by him.
