Enduring love is a deep well rather than a showy fountain

Evidence

The man you want is the man who tells youquietly, only once, that he sees you.The man whose love is a deep well, not a fountain in the square.You may have to walk further to reach a well,but a well never runs out, and a fountain always does. — , A Year of World Stories, 946

Categorization

• SEED: The well-or-fountain contrast is a reusable metaphor for any durable-vs-fleeting relationship, usable in essays and talks.
• FICTION: A potent line for a character’s marriage philosophy in historical fiction set on the Swahili coast.