We are not commanded (or forbidden) to love our mates, our children, our friends, our country because such affections come naturally to us and are good in themselves, although we may corrupt them. We are commanded to love our neighbor because our “natural” attitude toward the “other” is one of either indifference or hostility.
W.H. Auden
W.H. (Wystan Hugh) Auden (1907–1973), Anglo-American poet. “Neighbor, Love of One’s,” A Certain World (1970).