Virtue can procure only an imaginary happiness; true felicity lies only in the senses, and virtue gratifies none of them. Marquis de Sade More Quotes by Marquis de Sade More Quotes From Marquis de Sade Can we become other than what we are? Marquis de Sade I write what I see, the endless procession to the guillotine. Were all lined up, waiting for the crunch of the blade... the rivers of blood are flowing beneath our feet... Ive been to hell, young man, youve only read about it. Marquis de Sade writingmenblood Sexual pleasure is, I agree, a passion to which all others are subordinate but in which they all unite. Marquis de Sade pleasurepassionsex If it is the dirty element that gives pleasure to the act of lust, then the dirtier it is, the more pleasurable it is bound to be. Marquis de Sade lustgivingdirty Beauty belongs to the sphere of the simple, the ordinary, whilst ugliness is something extraordinary, and there is no question but that every ardent imagination prefers in lubricity, the extraordinary to the commonplace Marquis de Sade imaginationsimpleordinary The idea of God is the sole wrong for which I cannot forgive mankind. Marquis de Sade forgivingideasreligion Crime is the soul of lust. What would pleasure be if it were not accompanied by crime? It is not the object of debauchery that excites us, rather the idea of evil. Marquis de Sade soulevilideas Get it into your head once and for all, my simple and very fainthearted fellow, that what fools call humanness is nothing but a weakness born of fear and egoism; that this chimerical virtue, enslaving only weak men, is unknown to those whose character is formed by stoicism, courage, and philosophy. Marquis de Sade simplecharacterphilosophy If the objects who serve us feel ecstacy, they are much more often concerned with themselves than with us, and our own enjoyment is consequently impaired. The idea of seeing another person experience the same pleasure reduces one to a kind of equality which spoils the unutterable charms that come from despotism. Marquis de Sade equalityhappinessmen My manner of thinking, so you say, cannot be approved. Do you suppose I care? A poor fool indeed is he who adopts a manner of thinking for others! Marquis de Sade kinkycarethinking There is no more lively sensation than that of pain; its impressions are certain and dependable, they never deceive as may those of the pleasure women perpetually feign and almost never experience. Marquis de Sade kinkyhypepain The pleasure of the senses is always regulated in accordance with the imagination. Man can aspire to felicity only by serving all the whims of his imagination. Marquis de Sade pleasureimaginationmen Religions are the cradles of despotism. Marquis de Sade tyrantsliteraturereligion So long as the laws remain such as they are today, employ some discretion: loud opinion forces us to do so; but in privacy and silence let us compensate ourselves for that cruel chastity we are obliged to display in public. Marquis de Sade silencelawlong In libertinage, nothing is frightful, because everything libertinage suggests is also a natural inspiration; the most extraordinary, the most bizarre acts, those which most arrantly seem to conflict with every law, every human institution... even those that are not frightful, and there is not one amongst them all that cannot be demonstrated within the boundaries of nature. Marquis de Sade conflictinspirationlaw Chimerical and empty being, your name alone has caused more blood to flow on the face of the earth than any political war ever will. Return to the nothingness from which the mad hope and ridiculous fright of men dared call you forth to their misfortune. You only appeared as a torment for the human race. What crimes would have been spared the world, if they had choked the first imbecile who thought of speaking of you. Marquis de Sade racemenwar To judge from the notions expounded by theologians, one must conclude that God created most men simply with a view to crowding hell. Marquis de Sade atheistviewsmen The completest submissiveness is your lot, and that is all. Marquis de Sade Never may an act of possession be exercised upon a free being; the exclusive possession of a woman is no less unjust than the possession of slaves; all men are born free, all have equal rights: never should we lose sight of those principles; according to which never may there be granted to one sex the legitimate right to lay monopolizing hands upon the other, and never may one of the sexes, or classes, arbitrarily possess the other. Marquis de Sade rightsmensex The primary and most beautiful of nature's qualities is motion Marquis de Sade primariesqualitybeautiful
