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?
Pierre Choderlos De LaclosRead
Cast between the extremes of happiness and misfortune, uncertainty is a cruel torment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Uncertainty can create distress as we navigate between joy and sorrow.
This quote highlights the emotional struggle that arises from uncertainty in life. In the backdrop of happiness and misfortune, it signifies that not knowing what comes next can be a source of great anguish, causing us to feel stuck in a limbo where neither joy nor despair provides solace.
Themes
UncertaintyHappinessMisfortuneTormentLife
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech about resilience, one might say, 'As Pierre Choderlos De Laclos poignantly noted, uncertainty is a cruel torment.'
More from Pierre Choderlos De Laclos
All quotes βHumanity is not perfect in any fashion; no more in the case of evil than in that of good. The criminal has his virtues, just as the honest man has his weaknesses.
Pierre Choderlos De LaclosRead
I am astonished at the pleasure one experiences in doing good; and I should be tempted to believe that what we call virtuous people have not so much merit as they lead us to suppose.
Pierre Choderlos De LaclosRead
It was there, in particular, that I confirmed the truth that love, which we cry up as the source of our pleasures, is nothing more than an excuse for them.
Pierre Choderlos De LaclosRead
...it is not for the illusion of a moment to govern the choice of a lifetime.
Pierre Choderlos De LaclosRead
How characteristic of your perverse heart that longs only for what happens to be out of reach.
Pierre Choderlos De LaclosRead
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According to traditional wisdom in rural France, a baby in the womb should be compared to fruit on the tree. Not all the fruit on the same tree is ripe at the same time...we must accept that some babies need a much longer time than others before they are ready to be born.
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I play by my own rules so please think twice before you step into my life.
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The rosy hearth, the lamplight's narrow beam, The meditation that is rather dream, With looks that lose themselves in cherished looks; The hour of steaming tea and banished books; The sweetness of the evening at an end, The dear fatigue, and right to rest attained, And worshipped expectation of the night,β Oh, all these things, in unrelenting flight, My dream pursues through all the vain delays, Impatient of the weeks, mad at the days!
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When I say to the Moment flying; 'Linger a while -- thou art so fair!' Then bind me in thy bonds undying, And my final ruin I will bear!
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My poor life This shawl Frayed on strongboxes full of gold I roll along with Dream And smoke And the only flame in the universe
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In order to really enjoy a dog, one doesn't merely try to train him to be semi-human. The point of it is to open oneself to the possibility of becoming partly a dog.
Edward HoaglandRead