Mata Hari — "I prefer to live dangerously than to live a life of boredom."

"My only crime was to be a free spirit in a world that fears freedom."

"I love officers. I have loved them all my life. I prefer to be the mistress of a poor officer than of a rich banker. It is my greatest pleasure to sleep with them without having to think of money."

"My life is an open book, but only a few can truly read it."

"I am a dancer, not a spy. I have danced for kings, princes, and diplomats, but I have never betrayed a country."

"My dance is a sacred poem in which each movement is a word and whose every word is underlined by music. The temple in which I dance can be vague or faithfully reproduced, for I am the temple."