I do not know what it can be--indeed, I never heard of such a thing before, and the annals of the human race make no mention of such a feeling.

For what is love?
It is the ardent outflow of the whole being--the yearning of one human heart to lavish all its treasures upon another.

Love is more than self-denial; it is self-surrender and utter self-abnegation.

Love gives all away, and cannot possibly receive anything in return.

A requital of love would mean selfishness, which would be self-contradiction.