“The search for the truth is the noblest of occupations, and its publication a duty.”

— Madame de Staël, De l'Allemagne (1813), Pt. 4, ch. 2

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.”

“A little flesh, a little breath, and a Reason to rule all—that is myself.”

“I know that my unity with all people cannot be destroyed by national boundaries and government orders.”

“The Circumlocution Office was (as everybody knows without being told) the most important Department under Government.”

“Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants.”

“seeker of truth follow no path all paths lead where truth is here”

“The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools.”