Pleasure
Quotes - Never force yourself to read a book that you do not enjoy
“He
that loves pleasure must for pleasure fall.”
―
Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus
“I
find I am much prouder of the victory I obtain over myself, when, in the very
ardor of dispute, I make myself submit to my adversary’s force of reason, than
I am pleased with the victory I obtain over him through his weakness.”
―
Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays
“I
set out to discover the why of it, and to transform my pleasure into
knowledge.”
―
Charles Baudelaire
“When
you have wit of your own, it's a pleasure to credit other people for theirs.”
―
Criss Jami, Killosophy
“Americans
have an inability to relax into sheer pleasure.Ours is an entertainment
seeking-nation, but not necessarily a pleasure-seeking one....This is the cause
of that great sad American stereotype- the overstressed executive who goes on
vacation, but who cannot relax.”
―
Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
“I
was surrounded by friends, my work was immense, and pleasures were abundant.
Life, now, was unfolding before me, constantly and visibly, like the flowers of
summer that drop fanlike petals on eternal soil. Overall, I was happiest to be
alone; for it was then I was most aware of what I possessed. Free to look out
over the rooftops of the city. Happy to be alone in the company of friends, the
company of lovers and strangers. Everything, I decided, in this life, was pure
pleasure.”
―
Roman Payne, Rooftop Soliloquy
“We
don’t know yet if this girl is going to have sex tonight or not?”
“She
will for sure. I can smell the desire. And it is getting stronger as the time
is passing.”
―
Rebecca Harlem, The Pink Cadillac
“Fame
to an artist is like light to a vampire.”
―
Rebecca Harlem, The Pink Cadillac
“Nothing
is pleasanter to me than exploring in a library.”
―
Walter Savage Landor, Pericles and Aspasia
“And
yet it takes only the smallest pleasure or pain to teach us time’s
malleability.”
―
Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending
“The
best traveler is one without a camera.”
―
Kamand Kojouri
“My
name,” I whispered in her ear, and she shivered with pleasure. “Say my name
again. Not in anger, or disgust, but as you did just now. As if I am the only
man in the world who can satisfy you.
~Liam
C.”
―
J.J. McAvoy, Ruthless People
“If
the portraits of our absent friends are pleasant to us, which renew our memory
of them and relieve our regret for their absence by a false and empty
consolation, how much more pleasant are letters which bring us the written
characters of the absent friend.”
―
Héloïse d'Argenteuil, The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse
“Never
force yourself to read a book that you do not enjoy. There are so many good
books in the world that it is foolish to waste time on one that does not give
you pleasure.”
―
Atwood H. Townsend, Good Reading
“In
the midst of happiness or despair
in
sorrow or in joy
in
pleasure or in pain:
Do
what is right and you will be at peace.”
―
Jess Rothenberg, The Catastrophic History of You and Me
“In
life there are two things which are dependable. The pleasures of the flesh and
the pleasures of literature.”
―
Sei Shōnagon, The Pillow Book
“But
there must be some pleasure in condemning everything--in perceiving faults
where others think they see beauties.'
'You
mean there is pleasure in having no pleasure.”
―
Voltaire, Candide
“You
have a hierarchy of values; pleasure is at the bottom of the ladder, and you
speak with a little thrill of self-satisfaction, of duty, charity, and
truthfulness. You think pleasure is only of the senses; the wretched slaves who
manufactured your morality despised a satisfaction which they had small means
of enjoying. You would not be so frightened if I had spoken of happiness
instead of pleasure: it sounds less shocking, and your mind wonders from the
sty of Epicurus to his garden. But I will speak of pleasure, for I see that men
aim at that, and I do not know that they aim at happiness. It is pleasure that
lurks in the practice of every one of your virtues. Man performs actions
because they are good for him, and when they are good for other people as well
they are thought virtuous: if he finds pleasure in giving alms he is
charitable; if he finds pleasure in helping others he is benevolent; if he
finds pleasure in working for society he is public-spirited; but it is for your
private pleasure that you give twopence to a beggar as much as it is for my
private pleasure that I drink another whiskey and soda. I, less of a humbug
than you, neither applaud myself for my pleasure nor demand your admiration.”
― W.
Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage
“Pleasure
is wild and sweet. She likes purple flowers. She loves the sun and the wind and
the night sky. She carries a silver bowl full of liquid moonlight. She has a
cat named Midnight with stars on his paws. Many people mistrust Pleasure, and
even more misunderstand her. For a long time I could barely stand to be in
...the same room with her...”
― J.
Ruth Gendler, The Book of Qualities
“I
like a good story and I also like staring at the sea-- do I have to choose
between the two?”
―
David Byrne, How Music Works
