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One has lived long enough if one has had time to win the love of women and the esteem of men.

— Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Les liaisons dangereuses (1782)

On a toujours assez vécu, quand on a eu le temps d’acquérir l’amour des femmes et l’estime des hommes.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Letter 79: Le Vicomte de Valmont to la Marquise de Merteuil. Trans. P.W.K. Stone (1961).

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More quotes by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos

Success, which is not always a proof of merit, depends more often on the choice of a subject than on its execution.

Les liaisons dangereuses (1782)

One hand was needed for power, the other for love: where is the orator that could aspire to grace in such a position?

Les liaisons dangereuses (1782)

The scoundrel has his good qualities, and the good man his weaknesses.

Les liaisons dangereuses (1782)

Love, like medicine, is only the art of encouraging nature.

Les liaisons dangereuses (1782)

An opportunity missed once will present itself again, whereas a too hasty action can never be recalled.

Les liaisons dangereuses (1782)

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.