My passions, concentrated on a single point, resemble the rays of a sun assembled by a magnifying glass: they immediately set fire to whatever object they find in their way.
Marquis De SadeRead
Imperious, choleric, irascible, extreme in everything, with a dissolute imagination the like of which has never been seen, atheistic to the point of fanaticism, there you have me in a nutshell, and kill me again or take me as I am, for I shall not change.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the unapologetic nature of an individual who embraces their extreme traits without the intention of changing for others.
In this quote, Marquis De Sade presents a self-portrait that encapsulates his extreme and unapologetic personality. He acknowledges his flaws and intense emotions while expressing a defiance against societal norms and a refusal to alter his essence for acceptance. The phrase suggests that one should either accept individuals as they are, with all their complexities, or not at all, highlighting the importance of authenticity and the acceptance of one's true self.
Themes
AuthenticitySelf-AcceptanceExtremesIndividualityDefiance
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about individuality at a university event, one might quote this to stress the importance of being true to oneself.
More from Marquis De Sade
All quotes →So long as the laws remain such as they are today, employ some discretion: loud opinion forces us to do so; but in privacy and silence let us compensate ourselves for that cruel chastity we are obliged to display in public.
Marquis De SadeRead
Happiness is an abstraction, it is a product of the imagination, it is a way of being moved, which depends entirely on our way of seeing and feeling.
Marquis De SadeRead
Are your convictions so fragile that mine cannot stand in opposition to them? Is your God so illusory that the presence of my Devil reveals his insufficiency?
Marquis De SadeRead
The mechanism that directs government cannot be virtuous, because it is impossible to thwart every crime, to protect oneself from every criminal without being criminal too; that which directs corrupt mankind must be corrupt itself; and it will never be by means of virtue, virtue being inert and passive, that you will maintain control over vice, which is ever active: the governor must be more energetic than the governed.
Marquis De SadeRead
Prejudice is the sole author of infamies: how many acts are so qualified by an opinion forged out of naught but prejudice!
Marquis De SadeRead
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Who has fully realized that history is not contained in thick books but lives in our very blood?
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