Marquis de Sade

Writer, extreme libertine philosophy

Contemporary weird famous 233 sayings

Sayings by Marquis de Sade

I have always been convinced that the universe is a place of perpetual motion, and that this motion is always tending towards destruction.

Uncertain — Uncertain, attributed
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

It is always by means of crimes that empires are founded.

1795 — La Philosophie dans le boudoir
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

There is no God but nature, there is no law but force.

1782 — Dialogue between a Priest and a Dying Man
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The more perverse a pleasure, the more refined it is.

1785 — The 120 Days of Sodom
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

Everything is permitted, provided it gives pleasure.

1797 — Juliette
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The only true philosopher is the one who dares to think everything.

Uncertain — Uncertain, attributed
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I preach nothing but pleasure, and I practice what I preach.

1781 — Letter to his wife
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

Man is born free and everywhere he is in chains.

Uncertain — Uncertain, often misattributed to Rousseau, but Sade used similar sentiments.
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The greatest pleasure on earth is to be free.

1783 — Letter to his wife
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

My only crime is to have been too daring in my thoughts.

1781 — Letter to his wife
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

To be good is to be weak.

1797 — Juliette
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The universe is a chaos, and man is a part of that chaos.

1782 — Dialogue between a Priest and a Dying Man
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I have always preferred the society of vice to that of virtue.

1791 — Justine
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

There is no evil but that which is done to oneself.

1795 — La Philosophie dans le boudoir
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

My principles are not those of the world, but they are those of nature.

1783 — Letter to his wife
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The greatest crime is to be born.

Uncertain — Uncertain, attributed
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The wicked alone are happy, because they alone are free.

1797 — Juliette
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The only way to be happy is to be evil.

1785 — The 120 Days of Sodom
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

It is only through daring that one can achieve anything great.

1791 — Justine
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The human heart is the most fertile ground for vice.

1795 — La Philosophie dans le boudoir
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable