Héloïse d'Argenteuil, The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse

"Would that thy love, beloved, had less trust in me, that it might be more anxious!"

Héloïse d'Argenteuil, The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse

"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

"[I]t is not by being richer or more powerful that a man becomes better; one is a matter of fortune, the other of virtue. Nor should she deem herself other than venal who weds a rich man rather than a poor, and desires more things in her husband than himself. Assuredly, whomsoever this concupiscence leads into marriage deserves payment rather than affection."

Héloïse d'Argenteuil, The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse

"Let me have a faithful account of all that concerns you; I would know everything, be it ever so unfortunate. Perhaps by mingling my sighs with yours I may make your sufferings less, for it is said that all sorrows divided are made lighter."

Héloïse d'Argenteuil, The Letters of Abélard and Héloïse