He that loves not his wife and children feeds a lioness at home

The seventeenth-century divine Jeremy Taylor, often called the “Shakespeare of Divines” for his eloquence and fire, spoke with great moral force when he wrote: “He that loves not his wife and children feeds a lioness at home, and broods a nest of sorrows.” In this fierce image, he warns men that neglect of the family unleashes wildness and pain. The home, meant to be a sanctuary, becomes instead a place of turmoil when love is withheld. A wife denied affection becomes restless as a lioness starved, and children deprived of tenderness grow as thorns rather than flowers. Thus the man who fails in his duty to love does not escape consequence; he creates for himself a nest of sorrows, where grief multiplies like fledglings of misery.

The lioness in Taylor’s words is no mere insult but a symbol of passion turned fierce by neglect. For women, like men, carry within them strength, fire, and need. When denied love and companionship, that strength can turn destructive, tearing at the peace of the household. Likewise, children without affection do not grow quiet, but loud in rebellion, restless in spirit. What was meant to be a garden of nurture becomes a wilderness filled with beasts and storms. Taylor, as a preacher and moralist, sought to remind husbands that their first duty was not to wealth, nor honor, nor ambition, but to love those entrusted to their care.

History bears witness to this truth. Consider King Henry VIII of England, whose neglect and cruelty toward his wives and children left behind a kingdom torn by division and sorrow. His failure to love in fidelity fed not one lioness, but many, and his household became a battlefield. His daughters, Elizabeth and Mary, carried the wounds of his choices, and his realm endured decades of strife. In his palace, one can see the living example of Taylor’s warning: without love in the home, even the greatest throne becomes a nest of sorrows.

Yet we must also see the opposite: that when a man loves his wife and children with sincerity, the home becomes not a den of beasts but a sanctuary of peace. The lioness, fed with kindness and respect, becomes not a destroyer but a guardian, fierce in her devotion. Children, nourished by affection, rise not in rebellion but in strength and virtue. The family, thus rooted in love, weathers every storm, for no wealth or kingdom can provide the strength that flows from harmony at home.

Taylor’s wisdom is deeply moral but also profoundly practical. For the man who thinks he can neglect his home to pursue ambition soon finds that ambition hollow. What profit is there in wealth if one returns each night to a house filled with strife? What honor is there in conquest if children grow estranged and a wife grows bitter? Love is not a luxury in marriage and parenthood—it is the very foundation. Without it, every triumph tastes of ash.

The lesson for us is plain: let no man, or woman, neglect those nearest to them. Attend to your spouse with affection, not coldness. Speak gently, honor often, serve gladly. Nurture your children not only with bread for the body but with love for the soul. For neglect breeds sorrow, and sorrow multiplied in the home becomes a weight no man can bear. The family is the hearth; if the hearth grows cold, the whole house grows dark.

Practical wisdom flows from this: cherish the daily acts of love. Offer kindness in words, patience in anger, and presence in times of need. Do not feed the lioness with neglect, nor brood sorrow with indifference. Instead, sow joy, gratitude, and tenderness in your home, so that it may yield peace. For in the end, a man’s true greatness is not measured in wealth or power, but in the love he gives his wife and children.

Thus let the words of Jeremy Taylor endure as both warning and promise: without love, the home becomes a wilderness of beasts and grief; with love, it becomes a sanctuary of strength and joy. Choose wisely, and your household will not be a nest of sorrows, but a dwelling of light where generations to come find their roots and their refuge.