Vol. 06 · Misquoted ·Song ·13 of 348
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
They never said that.
What people say
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
What was actually said
"Absence makes the heart grow fonder. / Isle of Beauty, Fare thee well!" Thomas Haynes Bayly — Thomas Haynes Bayly, "Isle of Beauty" (1844)
Why it stuck
Bayly's ballad couplet pairs the maxim with a farewell to a place. A 1602 line by Francis Davison ran the opposite way: "Absence, hear thou my protestation / Against thy strength…"
Propertius (Elegies II.33b, c. 25 BC) is sometimes credited with the sentiment: longer absences make sharper loves.
Know another line by heart?
Play the duel and see how many you can spot. Or browse the whole shelf.