1. Please come to eat and sleep with me, or I will cut my hair to be a monk and find a place where many monks live to devote my life.
2. Marry me, or I will become a monk, and find a temple to live out my days. Maybe you don't know me yet, but one can certainly feel the spark of love at first sight.
3. Your eyes close, and I die; your eyes open, and I come back to life. Your eyes close and open repeatedly, and I die again and again. Your eyes are my life and death.
4. Juliette Drouet to Victor Hugo: Oh! Think of me, my sweet beloved, so that I may feel it and so that your joy amidst your delightful family, your kind friends, and admirers may not turn into bitterness and grief for me. Think of me, the one you are the life and soul of. Think of my love, how deep, pure, and devoted it is, and wish I was with you. I am going to bed, praying to God for you and yours. I trust my prayers will not be fruitless, as I am asking for their happiness along with yours, even at the cost of my own life. If you only knew how much I need to know that you are happy, my beloved, almost as much as to know I am loved by you! I love you more than anything else in the world. Enjoy your success this evening, my Victor, with your beauty, your genius, and be happy with your delightful family. I will be proud and happy myself, provided amidst all this, you do not forget me. Above all, I do not wish to importune or compromise you. I only want to love you until my last breath.
5. Napoleon to Josephine: I have your letter, my adorable love. It has filled my heart with joy... since I left you, I have been sad all the time. My only happiness is near you. I am lost in thought over your kisses, your tears, your delicious jealousy. The charm of my wonderful Josephine kindles a living, blazing fire in my heart and senses. When can I spend every moment near you, with nothing to do but to love you and nothing to think of but the pleasure of telling you and giving you proof of it? I loved you some time ago; since then, I feel that I love you a thousand times better. Ever since I have known you, I adore you more every day. That proves how wrong is that saying of La Bruyere "Love comes all of a sudden." Ah, let me see some of your faults; be less beautiful, less graceful, less tender, less good. But never be jealous and never shed tears. Your tears send me out of my mind... they set my very blood on fire. Believe me, it is utterly impossible for me to have a single thought that is not yours, a single fancy that is not submissive to your will. Rest well. Restore your health. Come back to me, and then at any rate, before we die, we ought to be able to say: "We were happy for so very many days!" Millions of kisses, even to your dog.
6. Cold here, icy cold there. You belong to neither, leaves have withered. Your face is pale and blue, a tearful smile. Something in your eyes, whispers words of last goodbye. My heart sinks down, tears surge out.
7. Light vied with wine, elegance mixed with fragrance, laughter covered by greetings, the crowd was busy with handshaking. You stood there, eyes on me. I trembled at the sparkles, brighter than the light. A masterpiece from God, I felt dizzy. We were not near, yet we were together.
8. Days ended. You said, you would wait for me at the Alps side. We would ski against snowflakes dancing in the sky. I gave no answer but a goodbye to accompany your flight. Gone was the plane, I suddenly tasted my pain. I knew I had been silly and stupid, you were in my heart, I shouldn’t have hidden in the dark. I tried to forget your disappointment. I made believe sometimes someday, I would tell you, I feel all the same.
9. My thought struggled at confessing, somehow hesitation ended in flinching. I continued my role of a fool, clung to my maiden pride, yet secretly indulged in your promise of the white land -- snow measuring down to us, in your arms I am lifted up. The chiming of Christmas bells!
10. The bell died in the patter of rain, from hell came the laughing of Satan at my brain. Tearful smile, swallowed by the darkness. How could I trace your hair to wipe your tears? My hands reached out, catching nothing but a raindrop, on a leaf that had withered.
