Seriously, what is the use of trying to understand the character of this pious harlot?
And to be candid with myself, what I wish ideally will never be realized; she does not ask me to take her to swell places, does not force me to dine with her, exacts no revenue: she isn't trying to compromise and blackmail me.

I shan't find a better--but, oh, Lord! I now prefer to find no one at all.

It suits me perfectly to entrust my carnal business to mercenary agents.

For my twenty francs I shall receive more considerate treatment.

There is no getting around it, only professionals know how to cook up a delicious sensual dish.
"Odd," he said to himself after a reflective silence, "but, all proportions duly observed, Gilles de Rais divides himself like her, into three different persons.
"First, the brave and honest fighting man.
"Then the refined and artistic criminal.
"Finally the repentant sinner, the mystic.
"He is a mass of contradictions and excesses.