In every loving woman there is a priestess of the past -- a pious guardian of some affection, of which the object has disappeared.
One can be a soldier without dying, and a lover without sighing.
Lovers should also have their days off.
The lover of life makes the whole world into his family, just as the lover of the fair sex creates his from all the lovely women he has found, from those that could be found, and those who are impossible to find.
There exists, between people in love, a kind of capital held by each. This is not just a stock of affects or pleasure, but also the possibility of playing double or quits with the share you hold in the other's heart.
Pity the selfishness of lovers: it is brief, a forlorn hope; it is impossible.
When Death to either shall come -- I pray it be first to me.
A man can go from being a lover to being a stranger in three moves flat but a woman under the guise of friendship will engage in acts of duplicity which come to light very much later. There are different species of self-justification.
Never the time and the place and the loved one all together!
One seeks to make the loved one entirely happy, or, if that cannot be, entirely wretched.
Lovers may be -- and indeed generally are -- enemies, but they never can be friends, because there must always be a spice of jealousy and a something of Self in all their speculations.
One who has not only the four S's, which are required in every good lover, but even the whole alphabet; as for example... Agreeable, Bountiful, Constant, Dutiful, Easy, Faithful, Gallant, Honorable, Ingenious, Kind, Loyal, Mild, Noble, Officious, Prudent, Quiet, Rich, Secret, True, Valiant, Wise; the X indeed, is too harsh a letter to agree with him, but he is Young and Zealous.
When a man and a woman have an overwhelming passion for each other, it seems to me, in spite of such obstacles dividing them as parents or husband, that they belong to each other in the name of Nature, and are lovers by Divine right, in spite of human convention or the laws.
There is no pain equal to that which two lovers can inflict on one another. This should be made clear to all who contemplate such a union. The avoidance of this pain is the beginning of wisdom, for it is strong enough to contaminate the rest of our lives.
Busy old fool, unruly Sun, why dost thou thus through windows and through curtains call on us? Must to thy motions lovers seasons run?
A lover, when he is admitted to cards, ought to be solemnly silent, and observe the motions of his mistress. He must laugh when she laughs, sigh when she sighs. In short, he should be the shadow of her mind. A lady, in the presence of her lover, should never want a looking-glass; as a beau, in the presence of his looking-glass, never wants a mistress.
Lovers who love truly do not write down their happiness.
A lover without indiscretion is no lover at all. Circumspection and devotion are a contradiction in terms.
The more one loves a mistress, the more one is ready to hate her.
My God, these folks don't know how to love -- that's why they love so easily.
Queen Guenever, for whom I make here a little mention, that while she lived she was a true lover, and therefore she had a good end.
I would not miss your face, your neck, your hands, your limbs, your bosom and certain other of your charms. Indeed, not to become boring by naming them all, I could do without you, Chloe, altogether.
These two imparadised in one another's arms, the happier Eden, shall enjoy their fill of bliss on bliss.
Every man needs two women, a quiet home-maker, and a thrilling nymph.
Scratch a lover, and find a foe.
An orange on the table, your dress on the rug, and you in my bed, sweet present of the present, cool of night, warmth of my life.
Between lovers a little confession is a dangerous thing.
It is easier to keep half a dozen lovers guessing than to keep one lover after he has stopped guessing.
Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety. Other women cloy the appetites they feed, but she makes hungry where most she satisfies.
We that are true lovers run into strange capers.
No one worth possessing can be quite possessed.
You are my lover and I am your mistress and kingdoms and empires and governments have tottered and succumbed before now to that mighty combination.
The one who loves least controls the relationship.
There's nothing in the world like the devotion of a married woman. It's a thing no married man knows anything about.
Mistresses are like books; if you pore upon them too much, they doze you and make you unfit for company; but if used discreetly, you are the fitter for conversation by em.