The Kreutzer Sonata, and Other Stories 1889 Annotated

But the nervous gentleman, evidently scarcely able to contain himself, without allowing the lawyer to finish, asked: "Yes, sir. But what are we to understand by this love that alone consecrates marriage?" "Everybody knows what love is," said the lady. "But I don't know, and I should like to know how you define it." "How? It is very simple," said the lady. And she seemed thoughtful, and then said: "Love . . . love . . . is a preference for one man or one woman to the exclusion of all others. . . ."