Every time I tried to express my most heartfelt desires to be morally good I met with contempt and ridicule; and as soon as I would give in to vile passions I was praised and encouraged. Ambition, love of power, self-interest, lechery, pride, anger, vengeance-all of it was highly esteemed.

We are all created to be miserable, and that we all know it, and all invent means of deceiving each other. And when one sees the truth, what is one to do?

Every man had his personal habits, passions, and impulses toward goodness, beauty, and truth.

It is no sin to look at a nice girl.

When you feel the desire for power, you should stay in solitude for some time

She did not want to talk of her sorrow, but with that sorrow in her heart she could not talk of outside matters.

What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness.