quotations about lust
The prison of lust is just that very one of which the soul shuts the doors upon herself; for each act of indulgence is the shooting of a fresh bolt.
PLATO
Phaedo
I know the very difference that lies
'Twixt hallowed love and base, unholy lust;
I know the one is as a golden spur,
Urging the spirit to all noble aims;
The other but a foul and miry pit,
O'erthrowing it in the midst of its career;
I know the one is as a living spring
Of virtuous thoughts, true dealings, and brave deeds--
Nobler than glory, and more sweet than pleasure--
Richer than wealth, begetter of more excellence
Than aught that from this earth corrupt takes birth,
Second alone in the fair fruit it bears
To the unmixed ore of true devotion:
I know that lust is all of this, spelt backwards;
Fouler than shame, and bitterer than sorrow,
More loathly than most abject penury--
Nor hath it fruit or bearing to requite it,
Save sick satiety and good men's scorn.
FANNY KEMBLE
The Star of Seville: A Drama in Five Acts
But in the morning Lust is always furtive. It dresses as mechanically as it undressed and heads straight for the door, to return to its own solitude. Like all the sins, it also makes us solitary. It is self-abdication at the very core of one's own being, a surrender of our need and ability to give and receive. Lust does not come with open hands, certainly not with an open heart. It comes only with open legs.
HENRY FAIRLIE
The Seven Deadly Sins of Today
Lust is not the real issue. It is a branch, along with a myriad of others, which receives its nourishment from roots that go deep into apathy, idleness, and unbelief. Addressing only lust is just trimming branches. I will continue to struggle with lust if I spend all my time focusing on only beating lust, so to speak.
ABBIE SMITH
Can You Keep Your Faith in College?
Carnal lust rules where there is no love of God.
ST. AUGUSTINE
attributed, Lust: A Dictionary for the Insatiable
Lust is the cause of generation.
LEONARDO DA VINCI
Thoughts on Art and Life
Sodom and Madonna-ism are two halves of the same movement, the mere tick-tack of lust and asceticism, pietism and pornography.
D. H. LAWRENCE
Introductions and Reviews
Wickedness is nourished by lust.
ARISTOTLE
attributed, Day's Collacon