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We believe ourselves pure as long as we despise what we do not desire.

— Marguerite Yourcenar Alexis (1929)

Nous nous croyons purs tant que nous méprisons ce que nous ne désirons pas.

Original text (French)

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More quotes by Marguerite Yourcenar

The world is big … May it please the One who perchance is to expand the human heart to life’s full measure.

The Abyss (1968)

A touch of madness is, I think, almost always necessary for constructing a destiny.

Few bipeds, from Adam's time down, have been worthy of the name of man.

The Abyss (1968)

Human beings betray their worst failings when they marvel to find that a world ruler is neither foolishly indolent, presumptuous, nor cruel.

Memoirs of Hadrian (1951)

The written word has taught me to listen to the human voice, much as the great unchanging statues have taught me to appreciate bodily motions.

Memoirs of Hadrian (1951)

All Marguerite Yourcenar quotes →

Attribution

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