Desire increases when fulfillment is postponed.

Le désir s'accroît quand l'effet se recule.

Original text (French)

Notes from Wikiquote

Polyeucte, act I, scene i. | The preceding quote is famous in French because it sounds as Desire increases when the bottom recoils.

Le Cid (1636)

Le Cid (1636)

La Mort de Pompée (1643)

Cinna (1641)

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