Source identified1
Image design Charcoal
Read & copy
“I could not love thee, Dear, so much, Loved I not Honour more.”
Meaning & context
The speaker paradoxically claims that his devotion to honor—including leaving for war—is part of what makes his love worthy rather than evidence that love is weaker.
Source details
“To Lucasta, Going to the Wars,” published in Lucasta (1649) and represented by Project Gutenberg #703. The lyric is Cavalier-era poetry spoken from a martial honor code; it is not a modern recommendation about relationships or war.