Definitions: (1) the seat of tender emotion; (2) possessing a loving character; affectionate; (3) the capacity for kindness; benevolence; (4) exhibiting a generous disposition; compassionate <a leader with heart>; (5) courage; hardihood; (6) the inmost thoughts or feelings, consciousness, or conscience; (7) enthusiasm; energy; spirit; <a resolute heart>; (8) the vital or essential part; the real meaning; the core <the heart of the matter>
See also: Tenderhearted
Compatible Qualities: full-hearted, a heart of gold, joyful, peaceful, playful, relaxed, soft
Music: “You’ve Gotta Have Heart” {1955}
You’ve gotta have heart
Miles ‘n miles n’ miles of heart
Oh, it’s fine to be a genius of course
But keep that old horse
Before the cart
First you’ve gotta have heart
— Richard Adler (1921-2012) American Lyricist
— Jerry Ross [born Jerold Rosenberg] (1926-1955) American composer
Sayings:
• Able to have a positive change of heart.
• Have a good heart-to-heart talk.
• A good laugh will open hearts.
• Get to the heart of the matter.
Dictum: The heart has its reasons that reason knows nothing of. — Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) French polymath [five disciplines]
Quotes:
• In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. — Anne Frank (1929–1945) The Diary of Anne Frank {1947}
• Every heart that has beat strong and cheerfully has left a hopeful impulse behind it in the world. — Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) Scottish poet
• The greatest substance of the world is immaterial, the province of the heart, and its study cannot be forced or reasoned. Merely to touch upon the edge of things in parsing their mechanics is to foreswear their fullness, for the entry to this fullness lies not in science but in art. — Mark Helprin (1947-) Il Colore Ritrovato {2005}
Symbols: 1) the lotus flower; 2) apple blossoms [the heart’s delights]; 3) gold [the heart of earthly wealth]; 4) the sun [the heart of our universe]; 5) the human heart [the center of the body, therefore, the center of eternity]; 6) another name for the soul