"The heart that has truly loved never forgets, but as truly loves on to the close"
About this Quote
The subtext is both tender and severe. “Never forgets” frames devotion as an ethical obligation, not merely a feeling you fall into. The second clause sharpens the blade: love doesn’t only remember, it “loves on” all the way “to the close,” suggesting a fidelity that runs parallel to mortality. It’s comfort, but it’s also a trap: the line flatters constancy while quietly warning against fickleness. To be the kind of person who “truly” loves is to accept an ending you can’t negotiate.
Context matters. More wrote in a world where bonds were public and consequential: marriage alliances, religious vows, patronage, loyalty to sovereign and Church. He himself would become a martyr figure, choosing principle over survival. Read against that biography, the quote sounds less like romantic poetry than an argument for steadfastness under pressure. It works because it turns an intimate emotion into a test of character, implying that to love well is to endure, and to endure is to prove you meant it.
Quote Details
| Topic | Romantic |
|---|---|
| Source | Later attribution: The Heart that Has Truly Loved (Lorraine Vines, Michael Oakey, 2009) modern compilationISBN: 9781409290889 · ID: EvfaAgAAQBAJ
Evidence: ... more dear! No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets, But as truly loves on to the close, As the sunflower turns on her god, when he sets The same look which she turn'd when he rose! Thomas Moore (1799-1825) Childhood and School ... Other candidates (1) A Selection of Irish Melodies (Vol. 2) (Thomas More, 1808)50.0% No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets, But as truly loves on to the close, As the sun-flower turns on her ... |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
More, Thomas. (2026, February 16). The heart that has truly loved never forgets, but as truly loves on to the close. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-heart-that-has-truly-loved-never-forgets-but-74130/
Chicago Style
More, Thomas. "The heart that has truly loved never forgets, but as truly loves on to the close." FixQuotes. February 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-heart-that-has-truly-loved-never-forgets-but-74130/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The heart that has truly loved never forgets, but as truly loves on to the close." FixQuotes, 16 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-heart-that-has-truly-loved-never-forgets-but-74130/. Accessed 24 Feb. 2026.












