Quotes by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

About Pierre Choderlos de Laclos:

Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos was a French novelist, official, freemason and army general, best known for writing the epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) (1782).
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Will you, then, never grow weary of being unjust?

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Never to my mind had she looked more beautiful. Inevitably so. A woman reaches the height of her beauty – and only at this time can she inspire that intoxication of the soul which is so often talked of and so rarely experienced – when we are sure...

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

I am astonished at the pleasure one experiences in doing good; and I should be tempted to believe that what we call virtuous people have not so much merit as they lead us to suppose.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

...it is not for the illusion of a moment to govern the choice of a lifetime.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Moreover it is easier, in the informality of conversation, to achieve that excitement and incoherence which is the true eloquence of love.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

It has become necessary for me to have this woman, so as to save myself from the ridicule of being in love with her: for to what lengths will a man not be driven by thwarted desire?

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Now, I'm not going to deny that I was aware of your beauty. But the point is, this has nothing to do with your beauty. As I got to know you, I began to realise that beauty was the least of your qualities. I became fascinated by your goodness. I was d...

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

You may conquer her love of God: you will never overcome her fear of the devil.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

One must not permit oneself excesses, except with persons whom one wishes soon to leave.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Humanity is not perfect in any fashion; no more in the case of evil than in that of good. The criminal has his virtues, just as the honest man has his weaknesses.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Combattant sans risque, vous devez agir sans précaution. Pour vous autres hommes, les défaites ne sont que des succès de moins. Dans cette partie si inégale, notre fortune est de ne pas perdre, et votre malheur de ne pas gagner.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Ce sentiment est−il donc le seul que vous puissiez connaître, et l'amour aura−t−il ce tort de plus à mes yeux, d'exclure l'amitié ?

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

I willingly allow that money does not guarantee happiness; but it must also be allowed that it makes happiness a great deal easier to achieve.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

How characteristic of your perverse heart that longs only for what happens to be out of reach.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

When one woman strikes at the heart of another, she seldom misses, and the wound is invariably fatal.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Don't you remember that love, like medicine, is only the art of encouraging nature?

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Dès ce moment, le doux espoir a remplacé la cruelle inquiétude. J'aurai cette femme, je l'enlèverai au mari qui la profane, j'oserai la ravir au Dieu même qu'elle adore.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

L’homme jouit du bonheur qu’il ressent, et la femme de celui qu’elle procure. Cette différence, si essentielle et si peu remarquée, influe pourtant, d’une manière bien sensible, sur la totalité de leur conduite respective. Le plaisir de l...

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

La honte que cause l'amour est comme sa douleur : on ne l'éprouve qu'une fois. On peut encore la feindre après ; mais on ne la sent plus. Cependant le plaisir reste, et c'est bien quelque chose.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

It was there, in particular, that I confirmed the truth that love, which we cry up as the source of our pleasures, is nothing more than an excuse for them.

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Author Bio

  • NamePierre Choderlos de Laclos
  • DescriptionFrench novelist, official and army general
  • BornOctober 18, 1741
  • DiedSeptember 5, 1803
  • CountryFrance
  • ProfessionWriter; Inventor; Novelist; Officer