"Love wishes to perpetuate itself. Love wishes for immortality"

Love, as expressed by Mortimer Adler, reveals a deep impulse that goes beyond fleeting emotion or temporary connection. It harbors a desire not only to be experienced in the present, but to last, to endure through time and circumstance. The phrase "love wishes to perpetuate itself" highlights love's essential drive toward continuity. When two individuals feel love, they do not want it to simply vanish with the passing of days; instead, they long for it to take root, to be remembered and reinforced, to become something resilient and ever-present. This yearning for perpetuation emerges not only in romantic relationships but in familial bonds, friendships, and even in the acts of kindness we extend to others. The effort to preserve love, to see it reflected in actions, memories, legacies, and shared experiences, is a testament to its power.

Love's wish for immortality reveals an inherent tension with human existence, for mortality and impermanence are woven into the human condition. Yet, even in the face of this truth, love aspires to transcend it. Through children, works of art, stories, and memories, people find ways to carry love beyond their own lifetimes. This longing is visible in rituals, traditions, and the ways in which we honor those we have loved and lost. There is a sense that love does not want to accept boundaries. It looks for an echo, a ripple, a whisper that will persist when the lovers themselves may be gone.

At its core, the wish for love’s immortality is an expression of hope and defiance. It points to the human fascination with meaning, continuity, and the desire to connect our lives to something greater than ourselves. Adler’s words resonate because they capture love’s unique combination of vulnerability and strength: it acknowledges the possibility of loss while choosing, nonetheless, to reach for timelessness.