10 Shockingly Sensible de Sade Quotes

The Marquis de Sade has gained an almost legendary notoriety in the world of literature for his graphically violent novels and his no holds barred portrayals of his deepest darkest fantasies that were played out upon the pages of his books.

I have read a couple of his novels and although there is no denying the depravity held therein, there would be an occasional literary gem that made me wonder just how successful an author he might have been had he chosen a different subject matter to write about.

Here I have selected a few de Sade quotes, taken from his books that show he was not just a pervert, he was an educated pervert, who could write.

“Either kill me or take me as I am, because I’ll be damned if I ever change.”

“Conversation, like certain portions of the anatomy, always runs more smoothly when lubricated.”

“In order to know virtue, we must first acquaint ourselves with vice.”

“To judge from the notions expounded by theologians, one must conclude that God created most men simply with a view to crowding hell.”

“One has always had too much when one has had enough.”

“When a man loves a woman, as our old troubadours used to say, even if he has heard or seen something that puts his beloved in a bad light, he should believe neither his ears nor his eyes, he should listen to his heart alone.”

“…and above all, you should not think of writing as a way of earning your living. If you do, your work will smell of your poverty. It will be coloured by your weakness and be as thin as your hunger. There are other trades which you can take up: make boots, not books.”

“It has been estimated that more than 50 million individuals have lost their lives to wars and religious massacres. Is there even one among them worth the blood of a single bird?”