Give me a kiss, and to that kiss a score; Then to that twenty

In the tapestry of love and affection, there are moments that exceed the boundaries of time and space, where the very act of loving becomes eternal, boundless, and infinitely rich. Robert Herrick, in his lyrical beauty, captured this sentiment with the lines, "Give me a kiss, and to that kiss a score; Then to that twenty, add a hundred more: A thousand to that hundred: so kiss on, To make that thousand up a million. Treble that million, and when that is done, Let's kiss afresh, as when we first begun." These words, though playful and tender, echo with the eternal longing of the human heart—a longing to express love in ways that cannot be measured, a love that grows with each shared moment, each kiss, and each heartbeat.

To understand the essence of Herrick's words, one must first grasp the depth of what a kiss represents. In the ancient world, a kiss was not just a physical touch; it was a symbol of unity, a joining of spirits that transcended the boundaries of the physical world. The kiss, in all its simplicity, was imbued with spiritual significance, representing trust, devotion, and the opening of one's soul to another. When Plato spoke of love in his works, he described it as an ascent—a journey that began with physical attraction but rose to the highest forms of connection, where souls became united in truth and beauty. Herrick, in his playful exaggeration, takes this idea to its extreme—love is not something finite but something that expands exponentially, like the growth of a flame that never dies but only grows brighter with each kiss.

In Herrick’s verses, we see the multiplication of affection, the infinite expansion of love that begins with a kiss and stretches into eternity. "A kiss," he says, "and to that kiss a score," and then the numbers multiply—twenty, a hundred, a thousand, and onward, until love becomes so immense, so all-consuming, that it transcends the limits of time and space. This is no mere expression of youthful desire; it is a celebration of love’s eternality. Just as the ancient gods were believed to live in a realm beyond time, where their power and influence were limitless, so too does Herrick’s love grow, expanding with each passing kiss, each sweet moment shared between lovers. This, then, is the heart of his verse—a celebration of boundless love, love that does not end but only deepens, multiplying with each expression of affection.

The love spoken of by Herrick is not one that is measured or counted in mere days or years. Rather, it is a love that defies limits, a love that refuses to be confined by the conventional markers of time. Consider the tragic but beautiful love of Heloise and Abelard, two lovers whose relationship, though torn apart by circumstances and the external forces of society, was marked by an intensity that never faded. Their love endured through letters, through poetry, and through a shared spiritual bond that transcended the physical realm. Even after they were separated by betrayal and religious duties, their love continued to grow, reaching heights that only the heart could measure. In the same way, Herrick’s love is not about a single moment or a fleeting connection, but about the endless, ever-expanding joy that two souls can share in each other’s presence.

This brings us to a deeper lesson: the act of loving is not something finite. Herrick’s kiss, in its repetitive growth, invites us to embrace the idea that love is something that cannot be measured. Love does not live in the finite—in the ticking of clocks or the days marked by calendars—it lives in the infinite: in the moments of shared connection, in the tenderness of each embrace, in the unspoken words that pass between hearts. Herrick teaches us that love is something to be celebrated in its ever-expanding nature. Every kiss, every gesture of affection, is part of a larger cosmic dance that grows with each passing moment, without need for a final goal or destination.

Consider the story of Abelard and Heloise once again, whose love was sustained by the writing of letters. Even though they were physically apart, their love continued to grow. Each letter, each word shared, was like a kiss, building upon the last, without a definitive end. Through this intellectual and emotional union, their love expanded, as though it could never be quenched. The lesson here is that love is not about achieving a final goal but about the journey itself—the shared moments, the continued growth, the infinite expansion of two hearts, bound together by the simple, yet profound, act of loving.

Herrick’s call to “kiss afresh, as when we first begun” is a reminder that love, in its purest form, is renewed with every act of affection, no matter how small or large. The kiss is not just an act of the lips but an expression of the eternal connection between two souls. Love does not end, does not grow stale—it is constantly reborn in every moment shared, in every word spoken, in every embrace. Thus, we are reminded that love is infinite, ever-growing, and always renewed with each new moment of connection.

So, let us take this lesson with us: in every relationship, in every act of love, let us not focus on the finite but on the infinite expansion of affection. Let us embrace love as something boundless, as something that does not tire or fade but grows, just as Herrick’s kiss multiplies into a million and beyond. Love, like time, cannot be confined; it exists not in the end but in the journey, in the continual unfolding of two hearts. Let us kiss and love endlessly, knowing that in every new kiss, love is renewed, multiplied, and made eternal.