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

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

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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.

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

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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.

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I see you are already as timid as a slave: you might as well be in love.

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