"Before the beloved's own characteristics can affect them, these misguided souls smother the true person in an imaginary charm drawn from their own inexhaustible source. Then, as they become closer, they see their darling not as they are but as they have made them and, while believing they take delight in their loved one, they are simply delighting in their own conceptions. One fine day, however, weary of doing all the work, they discover that the object of their adoration is not returning the ball; the infatuation drops away and the blow to their self esteem makes them unjust towards the person they once idolized."
Stendhal on Love, translated from the French language
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