1. Only flirt with those you intend to refuse.
2. A poor choice is less dangerous than an obvious choice.
3. Never write letters.
4. Always be sure they think they’re the only one.
5. Win or die.

So are the Libertine Commandments recounted by the aristocratic temptress Marquise de Merteuil for her cohort in conspiracy the Vicomte de Valmont. Her credos just scratch the surface of the perverse dance in which the two engage in Christopher Hampton’s 1985 play,

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