A man enjoys the happiness he feels, a woman the happiness she gives.

Marquise de Merteuil: I've distilled every thing to one single principle: win or die.

I can see that you're in love, but only in a very narrow sense. It's the love of someone that finds charms and qualities in a woman that she doesn't actually have, who puts her in a class apart with every one else in second place, and who stays attached to her even while he's abusing her.

...it is not for the illusion of a moment to govern the choice of a lifetime.

When one woman strikes at the heart of another, she seldom misses, and the wound is invariably fatal.

A man enjoys the happiness he feels, a woman the happiness she gives.

It has become necessary for me to have this woman, so as to save myself from the ridicule of being in love with her: for to what lengths will a man not be driven by thwarted desire?