Is it possible to imagine a life without love? Maybe, but only by conjuring up an unspeakable nightmare, a dark world where mothers' turn away from their children, where brothers do not feel each other's pain and where men and women do not find transcendence in each other's passion.
In truth, love is like gravity or food - all three are essential to our existence and the power of the concept is found throughout history. The Bible says that 'God so loved the world that he gave his only son that man could have life everlasting'. And Socrates, the father of western philosophy, so loved the truth that he preferred to drink poison rather than embrace falsehood. Before taking the hemlock that was the instrument of his execution, he said: 'One word frees us of all the weight and pain in life, that word is Love.'
Of course, the biblical and philosophical meanings of the word love are somewhat different to the way it is construed when used in a romantic setting. In the first two contexts love and wisdom is often the same thing but when it comes to romance, love is often anything but wise - it's far more likely to be insane, frivolous, wild or obsessive. Or, as American writer Ambrose Bierce put it, 'Love is a temporary insanity, curable by marriage'.
From the birth of literacy humanity has written about love and scientists have studied it, yet, from the perspective of our understanding, it remains as opaque as the origins of the universe. In fact, a scientist is more likely to understand the Big Bang than why he or she can't stop thinking about that certain someone.
At Style magazine we like the perspective of the 19th century English poet Elizabeth Browning who wrote, 'Love doesn't make the world go around. Love is what makes the ride worthwhile'. We say Amen to that and, in so doing, offer our first love and romance edition.
Between these pages there are ideas to inspire and entertain and, maybe, to help us to keep on loving, even when the journey seems hard and the rewards meagre. The Hit List has gorgeous gift suggestions for Valentine's Day, the Buzz features champagne, that most romantic of drinks and there are cool features on Kim Cattrall, celebrity matchmaking and mutual grooming, plus a sumptuous fashion shoot featuring hot Malaysian model Ling. As Somerset Maugham once said, 'The greatest tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love'.