At all times, in every century, every age, there has been such a connection between despotism and religion that it is infinitely apparent and demonstrated a thousand times over, that in destroying one, the other must be undermined, for the simple reason that the first will always put the law into the service of the second.
Marquis de SadeOne must do violence to the object of one's desire; when it surrenders, the pleasure is greater.
Marquis de SadeThe mirror sees the man as beautiful, the mirror loves the man; another mirror sees the man as frightful and hates him; and it is always the same being who produces the impressions.
Marquis de SadeCertain souls may seem harsh to others, but it is just a way, beknownst only to them, of caring and feeling more deeply.
Marquis de Sade