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Quote by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Work

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Written by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, this novel is a series of letters that depict the intricate web of affairs and manipulations among the aristocracy of 18th-century France. more

Author

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (October 18, 1741 – September 5, 1803) was a French novelist and army officer, best known for his epistolary novel 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' (Dangerous Liaisons). Born into a noble family, he served in the French military, participating in the American Revolutionary War. His novel, a critique of aristocratic morality and manipulation, became a classic of 18th-century literature. Laclos later engaged in politics during the French Revolution, supporting republican ideals, and died in Italy under Napoleon's rule. more

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“There is nothing more to chasing after wealth than the wastage of a person’s noble life for that which has no value. Instead he could have earned a high rank (in Paradise) and everlasting bliss, but he lost this due to his craving after provision – which had already been assured to him and allotted to him, and it was not possible for anything to come to him except what was decreed for him – then on top of this he does not benefit from that, but rather abandons it and leaves it for someone else. He departs from that and leaves it behind so that he will be the one held accountable for it, yet someone else benefits from it. So in reality he is only gathering it, yet someone else benefits from it. So in reality he is only gathering it for someone who will not praise him for that, whilst he himself goes on to One who will not excuse him for that – this itself would indeed be enough to show the blameworthiness of this craving.”

“I am yet to find one reliable friend in this crowd of shifting strangers. I have no true friends only mimicries, users and loopers. People popping in and out, keeping tabs on my life, not adding much credence to my existence yet not abandoning my life entirely because they know that greatness lies beyond the layers of this muck. It is up to me to discover those who are worth taking on this journey towards my destiny and the ones who will only get in my way.”

“The cat's sophisticated personae are masks of an advanced theatricality. Priests and god its own cult, the cat follows a code of ritual purity, cleaning itself religiously. Priest and god of its own cult, the car sacrifices to itself and may share its ceremonies with the elect. [...] The cat is the least Christian inhabitant of the entire home.”