People are so like their first mother Eve: what they are given doesn't take their fancy. The serpent is forever enticing them to come to him, to the tree of mystery. They must have the forbidden fruit, or paradise will not be paradise for them.

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Better the illusions that exalt us than ten thousand truths.

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I want to understand you, I study your obscure language.

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It's a lucky man who leaves early from life's banquet, before he's drained to the dregs his goblet - full of wine; yes, it's a lucky man who has not read life's novel to the end, but has been wise enough to part with it abruptly - like me with my Onegin.

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I was not born to amuse the Tsars.

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Dearer to me than a host of base truths is the illusion that exalts.

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My whole life has been pledged to this meeting with you...

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The less we love her when we woo her, The more we draw a woman in,

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Moral maxims are surprisingly useful on occasions when we can invent little else to justify our actions.

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A deception that elevates us is dearer than a host of low truths.

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