Heloïse: “Sexual desire is the purest and most natural of animal drives. To suppress it in favor of an intellectual and theological satisfaction is a perversion of nature in the most extreme sense. Why, even to fornicate alone, or with many people at once, or with a machine, or an ass or hound, is closer to Nature’s intent than abstinence. Do you not agree?” A long pause. Very long. Carlyle: “Diderot.” Thisbe: “What?” Carlyle: “You’re quoting Diderot, that bit about celibacy as the most unnatural thing.”
