Obscenity is our name for the uneasiness which upsets the physical state associated with self-possession, with the possession of a recognized and stable individuality.

It seems impossible, in fact, to judge the eye using any word other than seductive, since nothing is more attractive in the bodies of animals and men. But extreme seductiveness is probably at the boundary of horror.

Pleasure only starts once the worm has got into the fruit; to become delightful, happiness must be tainted with poison.

Extreme seductiveness is at the boundary of horror

It is clear that the world is purely parodic, that each thing seen is the parody of another, or is the same thing in a deceptive form.

Though the immediate impression of rebellion may obscure the fact, the task of authentic literature is nevertheless only conceivable in terms of a desire for fundamental communication with the reader.

The sovereign being is burdened with a servitude that crushes him, and the condition of free men is deliberate servility.