31 quotes
A Warning About Divine Observation
Madeleine LeClerc
Don't come any closer, Abbe, God's watching.
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A Reflection on Past Deceptions and Love
Renee Pelagie
Can I impart to you his cruelest trick?
Dr. Royer-Collard
Of course.
Renee Pelagie
Once, long ago in the folly of youth, he made me love him.
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Visitor Restrictions in Quarters
Abbé du Coulmier
You are not to entertain visitors in your quarters.
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A Provocative Invitation to Read
Marquis de Sade
Ah, you've come to read my trousers.
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Distinction Between Paper and Life
Madeleine LeClerc
Some things belong on paper, others in life. It's a blessed fool who can't tell the difference.
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Questioning the Strength of Convictions and Beliefs
Marquis de Sade
Are your convictions so fragile they cannot stand in opposition to mine? Is your god so flimsy, so weak? For shame!
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The Nature of Good and Evil
Madeleine LeClerc
How can we know who is good - and who is evil?
Abbé du Coulmier
All we can do is guard against our own corruption.
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The Paradox of Goodness and Badness
Madeleine LeClerc
If I wasn't such a bad woman on the page, I couldn't be such a good woman in life.
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The Importance of Smooth Communication
Marquis de Sade
Conversation, like certain portions of the anatomy, always runs more smoothly when lubricated.
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Debate on Literature and Human Nature
Abbé du Coulmier
It's not even a proper novel. It's nothing but an encyclopedia of perversions. Frankly, it even fails as an exercise in craft. The characters are wooden, the dialogue is inane. Not to mention the repetition of words like "nipple" and "pikestaff".
Marquis de Sade
There I was taxed; it's true.
Abbé du Coulmier
And such puny scope. Nothing but the worst in man's nature.
Marquis de Sade
I write of the great, eternal truths that bind together all mankind. The whole world over, we eat, we shit, we fuck, we kill and we die.
Abbé du Coulmier
But we also fall in love, we build cities, we compose symphonies, and we endure. Why not put that in your books as well?
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The Dangers of Unspoken Feelings
Abbé du Coulmier
There are certain things.... feelings.... we must not voice.
Madeleine LeClerc
Why?
Abbé du Coulmier
They incite us to act on what we should not.... cannot.
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The Madness of Writing
Madeleine LeClerc
You can't be a proper writer without a touch of madness, can you?
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A Playful Confession of Love and Desire
Marquis de Sade
You've already stolen my heart... as well as a more prominent organ, south of the Equator.
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Divine Sacrifice Across Generations
Abbé de Coulmier
I am not the first man God had asked to shed blood in his name. And I am not the last.
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Prison Luxury Does Not Change Its Nature
Simone
Tell him I'm no fool, a prison's still a prison, even with Chinese silks and chandeliers.
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The Superiority of Books Over Human Company
Dr. Royer-Collard
You prefer a book to your husband's company? Well no wonder, I'm only flesh and blood - that's no match for the printed page!
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Confronting Evil Through Written Words
Abbé de Coulmier
Listen to me Abbé, and listen well. I've stared into the face of evil and I've lived to tell the tale and now, I beg you, for your sake, let me write it down.
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The Potential of Insanity in Art
Marquis de Sade
My glorious prose filtered through the minds of the insane. Who knows, they might improve it.
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Martyrdom Should Be for a Higher Cause
Dr. Royer-Collard
If you're going to martyr yourself, do it for God, not a chambermaid.
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Admiration for Intellectual Curiosity in Men
Simone
I so admire men with an appetite for...books.
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The Human Condition Unveiled
Abbé de Coulmier
Your terrible secret revealed, you're a man after all.
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Desperation and Sanity in a Madhouse
Renee Pelagie
Desperation has driven me past etiquette, all the way to frenzy.
Dr. Royer-Collard
My schedule is not the subject to the whims of lunatics.
Renee Pelagie
I beg to differ, you work in a madhouse. Your every walking moment is governed by the insane.
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Understanding Virtue Through Vice
Marquis de Sade
In order to know virtue, we must acquaint ourselves with vice. Only then can we know the true measure of a man.
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Reflections on Death and Suffering
Marquis de Sade
I write what I see, the endless procession to the guillotine. We're all lined up, waiting for the crunch of the blade... the rivers of blood are flowing beneath our feet... I've been to hell, young man, you've only read about it.
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The Nature of Artistic Observation
Marquis de Sade
I didn't create this world of ours. I merely recorded it.
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Harnessing the Inner Beast for Healing
Renee Pelagie
If you cure him, I mean really cure him, harness the beast that rages his soul.
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Questioning the Nature of Divine Justice
Marquis de Sade
This monstrous God of yours? He strung up his son like a side of veal. I shudder to think what he'd do to me.
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Misunderstanding Identity and Expression
Abbé de Coulmier
You're not the Antichrist. You're only a malcontent who knows how to spell.
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Questioning Faith and Accountability
Marquis de Sade
Suppose one of your precious inmates attempted to walk on water and drowned - would you comdemn the Bible? I think not.
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A Disturbing Manuscript Proposal
Madeleine LeClerc
Your publisher says I'm not to leave without another manuscript.
Marquis de Sade
I've just the story. It's the unhappy tale... of a virginal laundry lass. The darling of the lower wards where they entomb the criminally insane.
Madeleine LeClerc
Is it awfully violent?
Marquis de Sade
Most assuredly.
Madeleine LeClerc
Is it terribly erotic?
Marquis de Sade
Fiendishly so. But it comes with a price. A kiss for each page...
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The Definition of Idealism in Youth
Dr. Royer-Collard
You know how I define idealism, Monsieur Delbenet? Youth's final luxury.
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