Madame de Staël

“Politeness is the art of choosing among one's real thoughts.”

“Taste is the literary conscience of the soul.”

“Architecture is frozen music.”

“Travel is one of the saddest pleasures in life.”

“To understand everything is to forgive everything.”

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

“The more I see of men, the more I like dogs.”

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

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

“The human mind is always making progress, but it is a progress in spirals.”

“Wit consists in knowing the resemblance of things which differ and the difference of things which are alike.”

“Fame is the thirst of youth.”

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

“In matters of love, the sincerity of the feeling is the only morality.”

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

“I see that my presence is embarrassing to you. Forgive me for being a woman.”

“One must choose in life between boredom and suffering.”

“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.”

“Enthusiasm gives life to what is invisible.”

“Superstition is the poetry of life.”