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161 " Valmont is quite another matter: difficult to keep, and dangerous to leave. He demands great skill, or, if you have none, great tractability. "
― Pierre Choderlos de Laclos , Les Liaisons dangereuses
162 " … in those looks from which there fliwed a poison so much more dangerous in that it was poured forth without intent and received without kistrust. "
163 " 'I can no longer endure my existence unless it is of use in making you happy. I devote myself entirely to that. From this moment on I am yours, and you will hear neither refusals nor regrets from my lips.' With such candour—naïve or sublime—did she give up her person and her charms, increasing my happiness by sharing it. "
164 " Your portrait have I said? but a letter is the portrait of the soul; it has not, like a cold image, that degree of stagnation so opposite to love; it yields to all our actions by turns; it becomes animated, gives us enjoyment, and sinks into repose — All your sentiments are precious to me; and will you deprive me of the means of becoming possessed of them? "
165 " … manifesting that precious sensibility which enhances beauty itself and makes virtue truly worthy, in leading astray a heart already intoxicated by too much love. "
166 " Ou vous avez un rival, ou vous n'en avez pas. Si vous en avez un, il faut plaire pour lui être préféré; si vous n'en avez pas, il faut encore plaire pour éviter d'en avoir. "
167 " O senhor sabe, por certo, melhor do que eu que dormir com uma mulher é apenas levá-la a fazer o que lhe agrada; daí a levá-la a fazer o que queremos vai às vezes um grande passo. "
168 " Zločinac ima vrlina kao što čestit čovjek ima mana. "
169 " Par bonheur je me ressouvins que pour subjuguer une femme tout moyen était également bon; "
170 " Spesso ci si crede chiamate da Dio solo perché si è disgustate dagli uomini. "
171 " She does not suspect what divinity it is I adore "
172 " You know how keen my desire is, how I thrive on obstacles; but what you do not know is how greatly solitude adds to the ardour of desire. "
173 " You may be able to conquer her love of God but you will not overcome her fear of the Devil; and when you hold your mistress in your arms and feel her hear beating, it will be in fear, not love "
174 " Only pleasure has the right to untie the love from one’s eyes "
175 " I know how impatient love is "
176 " Your unhappiness has touched me so deeply that I shall do everything possible go alleviate it "
177 " I’m sure your lordship knows better than me,’ he said, ‘that going to bed with a girl only means getting her to do something she wants to do, but from that to getting her to do what me want is often quite another story. "
178 " A man enjoys the pleasure he feels, a woman the pleasure she bestows. "
179 " Didn’t you know that it’s not until after enjoying its delights that Love can stop being blind. "
180 " Men can only judge thoughts by actions; and none of them, having lost the esteem of others, has the right to complain of the necessary mistrust, which makes that loss so difficult to repair. "