"Love is a tyrant sparing none"

Love, by its very nature, commands and conquers with a force that is both relentless and impartial. It does not choose its subjects based on merit, virtue, or readiness. In likening love to a tyrant, Corneille emphasizes its absolute power over the human heart and mind, a ruler that brooks no dissent, brooks no exceptions, and refuses to show mercy or favor. The word "tyrant" suggests an authority that takes control without consent, dictating emotions and actions in ways that defy logic or self-preservation. No one is exempt from love's sway; it seizes both the mighty and meek, the wise and naive, the young and aged.

There is an inherent duality in calling love a tyrant. Tyrants are feared, often loathed for the suffering they inflict. Yet, love, though craved and celebrated, can cause just as much turmoil. It can drive people to extremes, make them act against their own interests, and lay bare their vulnerabilities. Love demands loyalty and allegiance; it shades perceptions, clouds reason, and often strips away the armor people use to protect themselves from the world. It cannot be negotiated with, resisted forever, or easily cast aside. Those who fall under its dominion are compelled to follow its dictates, no matter the cost.

Corneille captures love's paradoxical cruelty: its power to elevate and to wound, to bring joy and despair in equal measure. Whether one finds oneself adored or spurned, love remains unmoved, as indifferent to suffering as any despot. Its universality is its tyranny, no amount of wisdom or virtue can guard against its reach. In the end, to love is to surrender to an unpredictable, all-consuming force, one that may never offer relief but instead binds all humanity in its inexorable, merciless reign.