L'Abbé Prévost

“ The sixty thousand francs, which formed the bulk of our little fortune, was not a sum that would last us all our lives; especially as we were not inclined to put over-much restraint upon our expenditure. Economy was not Manon's chief virtue, any more than it was my own.
The arrangement I proposed to myself was as follows: "Sixty thousand francs," as I said to her, "ought to be enough to support us for ten years. Two thousand crowns a year will be as much of an income as we shall need if we continue to live at Chaillot. We will adopt a genteel, but simple mode of life. ”

“ I had barely twenty pistoles left—that amount having luckily been in my pocket. I showed him my purse, and told him of my misfortune and my fears, and then asked him whether, in his opinion, there remained any other alternative for me to choose than to die of starvation, or blow out my brains in despair.
He replied that suicide was the refuge of fools; while, as for starvation, many an able man found himself reduced to it simply because he refused to make proper use of his talents. ”

“ A girl such as she is ought to support us all three."
I was about to rebuke him as he deserved for this insolent suggestion, when he cut me short by going on to say that he would guarantee my having, before night, a thousand crowns, to be divided between us, if I would consent to be guided by his advice. He knew a nobleman, he continued, who was so liberal in all that concerned his pleasures, that he was sure he would think nothing of pacing that amount to secure the favors of a girl like Manon. ”

“ To undertake to play, simply, with the ordinary chances of success, would be the surest method of completing my ruin; while to attempt, alone and unaided, to make use of those little devices which are employed by the skilful to correct the partialities of fortune, was a perilous business. ”

“ It is rarely, in truth, that they succeed; but that is not the object contemplated by Divine wisdom. What they do succeed in accomplishing is, to reap the fruit of their labors by living at the expense of those whom they teach. Thus, from whatever point of view one looks at it, the folly of the rich and great forms an excellent source of revenue for humbler folk."
These reflections served to restore me to some degree of cheerfulness and composure. My first resolution was to go and consult M. Lescaut, Manon's brother. He knew Paris thoroughly ”

“ If, to their riches, they added the possession of intelligence, they would be unduly happy, and the remainder of mankind unduly wretched. To the latter, therefore, are accorded superior physical and mental faculties as means of raising themselves above misery and poverty. ”

“ We will lay down rules for ourselves. Thus, as you are fond of the Opera, we will go to hear it twice a week. As to cards we will limit ourselves at play so that our losses shall never exceed two pistoles. ”

“ In the course of ten years some change must inevitably occur in my family affairs. My father is advanced in years, and may die; in which case I shall come into property which will place us beyond the reach of any further anxiety. ”

“ Some of them gain a share of the wealth of the higher classes by ministering to their pleasures, and so making them their dupes. Others devote themselves to their instruction, and try to make worthy and upright citizens of them. ”