If the portraits of our absent friends are pleasant to us, which renew our memory of them and relieve our regret for their absence by a false and empty consolation, how much more pleasant are letters which bring us the written characters of the absent friend.

Anonymous
About This Quote

This is a short and profound quote from the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He is suggesting that letters can provide a much more effective way of communicating with a loved one who is away from you, as opposed to a digital medium such as Facebook or email. In order to communicate with someone you love, you must be able to see them and touch them. With a letter, there is no physical contact. It is much easier to create a false image of someone in your mind as opposed to the real person.

Source: The Letters Of AbaLard And HaLoase

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