“Either morality is a fable, or the more enlightened we are, the more attached to it we become.”

— Madame de Staël, The Influence of Literature upon Society (1800), Pt. 2, ch. 4

About Madame de Staël

1766 – 1817

French-Swiss writer and salon hostess, author of "Corinne".

“To understand makes one very indulgent.”

“We cease loving ourselves if no one loves us.”

“Love is the whole history of a woman's life; it is an episode in a man's.”

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

“He who knows others is wise; he who knows himself is enlightened.”

Attribution note: Source disputed or unverified.

“The man who asks a question is a fool for a minute, the man who does not ask is a fool for life.”

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”