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One may quote bad poetry if it is by a great poet.

— Pierre Choderlos de Laclos Les liaisons dangereuses (1782)

On peut citer de mauvais vers, quand ils sont d'un grand poète.

Original text (French)

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Notes from Wikiquote

Letter 4: Le Vicomte de Valmont to la Marquise de Merteuil. Trans. P.W.K. Stone (1961).

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Poetry

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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I am no poet, but if you think for yourselves, as I proceed, the facts will form a poem in your minds.

Michael Faraday

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.