Answer to Who "Wrote the Quote?"
A Warm Hello to your good self/selves, ....... Difficult to know how to address an e-magazine properly, but hope my introduction is adequate? Down to the task in hand then, which is the original source of the quote on your home-page. It is derived from the writings of Roger Comte de Bussy-Rabutin, a French soldier and poet (born 1628, died 1693). The quote you have is from his 1665 volume entitled "The Maximes d'Amour" (Has also been reprinted in various later volumes dealing with French attitudes to love). The original poem looks like this:
| From: Maximes d'Amour |
| By: Roger Comte de Bussy-Rabutin |
|
Première Partie. De l'amour qui espère.
Si l'absence fait vivre ou mourir l'amour. On parle fort diversement Des effets que produit l'absence: L'un dit qu'elle est contraire a la persévérance; Et l'autre, qu'elle fait aimer plus longuement; Pour moi, voici ce que je pense: L'absence est à l'amour ce qu'est au feu le vent. Il éteint le petit, il allume le grand. |
With the last two lines " L'absence est à l'amour ce qu'est au feu le vent. Il éteint le petit, il allume le grand.", providing the origin of the quote "Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great." There does seem to be some variation on the translation of the word 'allume' ... from 'enkindled', to 'kindled', to 'inflames' ... personally, I do not think it really matters, as all of those word options seem to convey the original meaning and intent perfectly adequately and effectively.
Hope this has been of some help to you,
Warm Regards, from Ben.