Love is rarer than genius itself. And friendship is rarer than love.

Péguy’s aphorism ranks human goods by their scarcity rather than by conventional prestige. “Genius” is often treated as the rarest gift, yet he suggests that the capacity to love—sustained, self-forgetful, and faithful—is even less common. He then elevates friendship above romantic or familial love, implying that true friendship requires an additional discipline: equality, patience, and loyalty without the supports of passion, obligation, or social script. The line also carries a moral edge typical of Péguy: it challenges readers to measure their lives not by talent or achievement but by the harder, quieter virtues that bind people together over time.