“If you wish to be loved, love.”Publilius Syrus · Sentințe · -50 · 610
Affection can't be demanded, only given: love first, and it returns.
The maxim flips the usual expectation: many people sit waiting to be loved and feel wronged when they aren't. Syrus shows that affection works through reciprocity — people respond to what they receive, not to what is asked of them. The mechanism is simple: the act of loving disarms the other person's defenses and triggers the very response you wanted. A colleague who greets people sincerely and takes genuine interest ends up, over time, with a friendship no direct request could ever have secured.
Why it matters Useful in relationships gone cold over mutual expectations: whoever moves first breaks the cycle and gains more than reproaches ever would.