Who said “A pity beyond all telling is hid in the heart of love.”?

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William Butler Yeats. A published source records them saying or writing it.

SourceThe Pity Of Love; in recent years a statement which might have originated as a misquotation of the first lines of this has been attributed to Oscar Wilde: "To give and not expect return, that is what lies at the heart of love." — no occurrence prior to 1999 has yet been located.

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“A pity beyond all telling is hid in the heart of love.”
— William Butler Yeats
VerifiedThe Pity Of Love; in recent years a statement which might have originated as a misquotation of the first lines of this has been attributed to Oscar Wilde: "To give and not expect return, that is what lies at the heart of love." — no occurrence prior to 1999 has yet been located. · evidenceLove
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Cite this quote

For academic work, cite the original where you can: The Pity Of Love; in recent years a statement which might have originated as a misquotation of the first lines of this has been attributed to Oscar Wilde: "To give and not expect return, that is what lies at the heart of love." — no occurrence prior to 1999 has yet been located..

APA

Yeats, W. B. (n.d.). A pity beyond all telling is hid in the heart of love. [Quotation]. Famous Quotations Network. Retrieved October 24, 2026, from https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/27606-a-pity-beyond-all-telling-is-hid-in/

MLA

Yeats, William Butler. “A pity beyond all telling is hid in the heart of love.” Famous Quotations Network, https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/27606-a-pity-beyond-all-telling-is-hid-in/. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Chicago

Yeats, William Butler. “A pity beyond all telling is hid in the heart of love.” Famous Quotations Network. Accessed October 24, 2026. https://www.famous-quotations.com/quotes/27606-a-pity-beyond-all-telling-is-hid-in/.

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“In dreams begins responsibility.”
VerifiedEpigraph to the book Responsibilities (1914); this was later adapted as the title of the story "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities" (1937) by Delmore Schwartz. · evidenceDetails & citeResponsibility
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“I think you can leave the arts, superior or inferior, to the conscience of mankind.”
VerifiedSpeech (7 June 1923), Seanad Éireann (Irish Free Senate), on the Censorship of Films Bill. · evidenceDetails & citeCensorship
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All 36 William Butler Yeats quotes →