Quote by Marquis de Sade (1740-1814)

• 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.

• 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...

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

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