I understand what you are feeling," he said. "As Socrates showed, love cannot be anything else but the love of the good. But to find the good is very rare. That is why love is rare, in spite of what people think. It happens to one in a thousand, and to that one it is a revelation. No wonder he cannot communicate with the other nine hundred and ninety-nine.
The quote reflects a profound understanding of love and its rarity. The speaker highlights how true love is rooted in the pursuit of goodness, a concept famously explored by Socrates. Genuine love is not something easily found; it is a rare experience that occurs to only a select few. This insight resonates with the idea that meaningful connections are hard to come by, making them even more significant when they do arise.
The notion that true love can lead to a revelation for the one who experiences it emphasizes the uniqueness of such relationships. For those fortunate to encounter this love, communication with others who have not experienced it can be challenging. This quote encapsulates the complexity of human emotions and the barriers that may exist when one's understanding of love differs greatly from the majority, further illustrating the central themes explored in Mary McCarthy's "The Group."
