Marquis de Sade

Has not Nature proved, in giving us the strength necessary to submit them to our desires, that we have the right to do so?

Will it not be felt that Virtue, however beautiful, becomes the worst of all attitudes when it is found too feeble to contend with Vice...

To judge from the notions expounded by theologians, one must conclude that God created most men simply with a view to crowding hell.

Social order at the expense of liberty is hardly a bargain.

You say that my way of thinking cannot be tolerated? What of it? The man who alters his way of thinking to suit others is a fool. My way of thinking is the result of my reflections. It is part of my inner being, the way I am made. I do not contradict them, and would not even if I wished to. For my system, which you disapprove of, is also my greatest comfort in life, the source of all my happiness --- it means more to me than my life itself.