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Aline and Valcour, or, the Philosophical Novel, Vol. III

Book by Marquis de Sade · 3 quotes · Léonore S Story, Religion, Debauchery

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AllLéonore S StoryReligionDebaucheryEmpathyGood DeedsHumilityModestyPainSincerityTemperanceUnhappinessVirtue

Aline and Valcour, or, the Philosophical Novel, Vol. III Quotes

“How is it possible to act so harshly after having been so unhappy? I'd always believed misfortune nudges open the soul, that remembering the pains we ourselves endured, our heart grows more sensitive to the suffering of others. I was wrong. Unhappiness hardens people, dulling them to their own pain; one grows accustomed to be unmoved by that of others, to remain impassive in the face of attack and therefore indifferent to blows that strike others.”

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Book:Aline and Valcour, or, the Philosophical Novel, Vol. III
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“Clémentine viewed good deeds as trickery; sensitivity, a weakness from which we must protect ourselves; modesty, an error that always disadvantages the charms of one who's pretty; sincerity, an idiocy that makes a fool; humility, an absurdity; temperance, a deprivation for the best years of one's life; and religion, laughable hypocrisy.”

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Book:Aline and Valcour, or, the Philosophical Novel, Vol. III
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“If you'll permit me, the distance that separates debauchery from impiety is far greater than that between debauchery and religious superstition. One does what one likes when safe from reproach under the mantle of religion; but the woman who loves virtue for its own sake and serves it because it inflames her heart, who's brazen and bares her soul—she'll be seen rushing headlong to commit errors she can't hide.”

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Book:Aline and Valcour, or, the Philosophical Novel, Vol. III
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