You feel flushed. Your stomach is in knots. Your palms are sweaty, your heart's pounding and your throat is dry. Is it a virus? No, it's the tingling of a new romance.

In celebration of St. Valentine's Day, here are some quotes about the exciting-and terrifying-delights of attraction.

***************

"Women still remember the first kiss after men have forgotten the last."

-- Rémy de Gourmont

"A man loses his sense of direction after four drinks. A woman loses hers after four kisses."

-- H.L. Mencken

"We never forget those who make us blush."

-- Jean-François de la Harpe

"A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point. That's basic spelling that every woman ought to know."

-- Mistinguett

"There are times not to flirt. When you're sick. When you're with children. When you're on the witness stand."

-- Joyce Jillson

"When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity."

-- Albert Einstein

"If you're a gifted flirt, talking about the price of eggs will do as well as any other subject."

-- Mignon McLaughlin

"I wasn't kissing her, I was whispering in her mouth."

-- Chico Marx

"Few men know how to kiss well. Fortunately, I've always had time to teach them."

-- Mae West

"If you are ever in doubt as to whether or not to kiss a pretty girl, always give her the benefit of the doubt."

-- Thomas Carlyle