Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Origin of: Absence makes the heart grow fonder

Absence makes the heart grow fonder

The concept behind this well-known saying was first coined in Latin by the Roman poet Sextus Aurelius Propertius (born around 50 BC and died around 15 BC). In a work titled Elegies, he wrote semper in absentes felicior aestus amantes which means passion is always warmer toward absent lovers. Since then, it has been around in various forms. For example, in 1650, James Howell wrote in Familiar Letters, “Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.” However, it was Thomas Haynes Bayly (1797-1839) who first phrased it in the familiar form that we know today. In the penultimate line of a song called Isle of Beauty, published in 1844, five years after his death, Bayly wrote, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder: Isle of Beauty, fare thee well.”