"Having so long called her mamma, having enjoyed with her the intimacy of a son, I had become accustomed to look upon myself as one. I believe that this was really the cause of the little eagerness I felt to possess her, although she was so dear to me. I well remember that my early feelings, without being livelier, were more sensual. At Annecy, I was intoxicated; at Chambéri, I was no longer so. I still loved her as passionately as possible; but I loved her more for her own sake than for my own, or, at least, I sought happiness with her, rather than enjoyment; she was for me more than a sister, more than a mother, more than a friend, even more than a mistress; and for that very reason she was not a mistress for me. In short, I loved her too well to desire to possess her."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Confessions_(Rousseau)
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Confessions (Rousseau)
153 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Confessions (Rousseau) →
Related Quotes
"I know nothing which exercises a more powerful influence upon my heart than an act of courage, performed at an opport…"
"I can understand how it is that the inhabitants of cities, who see nothing but walls, streets and crimes, have so lit…"
"I have learned to doubt whether a man, who is the possessor of a large fortune, whoever he may be, can be sincerely f…"
"An enemy to everything that comes under the denomination of party, faction, and cabal, I have never expected any good…"
"So difficult is it to manage the irritable amour-propre of literary men, and such great care is necessary, in paying …"
"It is in the country that one learns to love and serve humanity; one only learns to despise it in cities."
"for the first time since the existence of the world, an author permits himself, by a single stroke of the pen, to mak…"
"I might have thrown myself entirely into the most lucrative path, and, instead of lowering my pen to copying, I might…"
"It is too difficult to think nobly, when one thinks only in order to live. In order to be able and to venture to utte…"
"There is no soul so vile, no heart so barbarous, that it is not susceptible of some kind of attachment."