Love is the emblem of eternity; it confounds all notion of time. Madame de Stael More Quotes by Madame de Stael More Quotes From Madame de Stael To live beneath sorrow, one must yield to it. Madame de Stael yieldsadnesssorrow Good taste cannot supply the place of genius in literature, for the best proof of taste, when there is no genius, would be, not to write at all. Madame de Stael geniuswould-bewriting O memory, thou bitter sweet,--both a joy and a scourge! Madame de Stael joysweetmemories In women's destiny everything goes downhill except for thought, whose immortal nature it is to keep constantly rising. Madame de Stael immortalrisingdestiny There is no reality on this earth except religion and the power of love; all the rest is even more fugitive than life itself. Madame de Stael power-of-loveearthreality Ought not every woman, like every man, to follow the bent of her own talents? Madame de Stael feminismtalentmen [Ridicule] laughs at all those who see the earnestness of life and who still believe in true feelings and in serious thought ... It soils the hope of youth. Only shameless vice is above its reach. Madame de Stael feelingslaughingbelieve The sense of this word among the Greeks affords the noblest definition of it; enthusiasm signifies 'God in us.' Madame de Stael definitionsgreekenthusiasm Love is the symbol of eternity. Madame de Stael eternitylove-islove Wit lies in recognizing the resemblance among things which differ and the difference between things which are alike. Madame de Stael resemblance-isdifferenceslying Venice astonishes more than it pleases at first sight. Madame de Stael venicesightfirsts Never, never have I been loved as I love others! Madame de Stael I desire no other proof of Christianity than the Lord's Prayer. Madame de Stael christianityprayerdesire 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. Madame de Stael meditationselfprayer A voyage without companionship, that is to say without conversation, is one of the saddest pleasures of life. Madame de Stael companionshipvoyagespleasure The mind's pleasures are made to calm the tempests of the heart. Madame de Stael calmmindheart It is obvious that the most despotic forms of social organization would be suitable for inert men who are satisfied with the situation fate has placed them in, and that the most abstract form of democratic theory would be practicable among sages guided only by their reason. The only problem is to what degree it is possible to excite or to contain the passions without endangering public happiness. Madame de Stael womenfatepassion [Moralistic] novels are at the same disadvantage as teachers: children never believe them, because they make everything that happens relate to the lesson at hand. Madame de Stael teacherbelievechildren [On Napoleon:] One has the impression of an imperious wind blowing about one's ears when one is near that man. Madame de Stael wind-blowingearsmen Unhappy love freezes all our affections: our own souls grow inexplicable to us. More than we gained while we were happy we lose by the reverse. Madame de Stael heartbreakunhappysoul
