Quotes from Madame de Stael


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Wit consists in knowing the resemblance of things that differ, and the difference of things that are alike.


Speech happens to not be his language.


Wit lies in recognizing the resemblance among things which differ and the difference between things which are alike.


The mystery of existence is the connection between our faults and our misfortunes.


Sow good services: sweet remembrances will grow from them.


A man must know how to fly in the face of opinion; a woman to submit to it.


The desire of the man is for the woman, but the desire of the woman is for the desire of the man.


The sense of this word among the Greeks affords the noblest definition of it; enthusiasm signifies God in us.


That past which is so presumptuously brought forward as a precedent for the present, was itself founded on some past that went before it.


Innocence in genius, and candor in power, are both noble qualities.


Prayer is more than meditation. In meditation, the source of strength is one's self. When one prays, he goes to a source of strength greater than his own.


Search for the truth is the noblest occupation of man; its publication is a duty.


The voice of conscience is so delicate that it is easy to stifle it; but it is also so clear that it is impossible to mistake it.


Scientific progress makes moral progress a necessity; for if man's power is increased, the checks that restrain him from abusing it must be strengthened.


Politeness is the art of choosing among your thoughts.


Genius is essentially creative; it bears the stamp of the individual who possesses it.


A religious life is a struggle and not a hymn.


The more I see of men the more I like dogs.


The greatest happiness is to transform one's feelings into action.


Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end.