#temptation

If priests were allowed to marry, if this would be an optional thing, and if he could have wife and children, he would certainly have less temptation to satisfy certain sexual impulses with minors. ↗

— Hans Kung

#certain #certainly #children #could #impulses

Virtue is insufficient temptation. ↗

— George Bernard Shaw

#temptation #virtue

Secrecy sets barriers between men, but at the same time offers the seductive temptation to break through the barriers by gossip or confession. ↗

— Georg Simmel

#between #break #confession #gossip #men

(Hadley and Mary in the carriage) “Might I repeat how utterly charming you look?” “You are very kind,” she replied, down casting her eyes as a flash of heat invaded her cheeks. “But even if I were dressed in the finest of gowns, I could never be a lady of fashion.” “Never let that disturb you, my pet.” He fingered a mass of curls that had settled over her shoulder just above the expanse of her modestly covered bosom. “I find fashion and beauty are rarely synonymous.” When he caressed a stray lock between thumb and fore!nger and raised it to his lips, Mary felt the dizzying sensation from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. ↗

— Victoria Vane

#victoria-vane #beauty

The first temptation, upon meeting an old friend after many years, is always to - look the other way. ↗

— Ugo Betti

#always #first #friend #look #many

But a good wife—a good unworldly woman—may really help a man, and keep him more independent. ↗

— George Eliot

#temptation #life

I know that whatever the complex origins of my own homosexuality are, there have been conscious choices I've made to indulge - and therefore to intensify, probably - my homoerotic inclinations. As I look back over the course of my life, I regret the nights I have given in to temptations to lust that pulsed like hot, itching sores in my mind. And so I cling to this image - washed. I am washed, sanctified, justified through the work of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Whenever I look back on my baptism, I can remember that God has cleansed the stains of homosexual sin from the crevasses of my mind, heart, and body and included me in his family, the church, where I can find support, comfort, and provocation toward Christian maturity. ↗

— Wesley Hill

#homosexuality #temptation #faith

You've become my friend, and I love you." It was right and true and that made saying it easy. She heard the surprise in the intake of his breath. "And I, you, Helen. I think I've loved you since the moment you first stood on my doorstep." He paused. "But now, I really must insist that you sleep. My love will still be here when you wake up. ↗

— Michelle Zink

#griffin #griffin-and-helen #griffin-channing #helen #helen-cartwright

dangerous chemistry ↗

— Emily Giffin

#love

God grant you the strength to fight off the temptations of surrender. ↗

— Walter Annenberg

#god #grant #off #strength #surrender