Christine de Pizan Quotes
Christine de Pizan was a 14th and 15th-century Italian-French author and one of the earliest professional women writers in European history. Widowed in her mid-twenties, she supported herself, her three children, and her mother by writing prolifically across genres, producing over forty works in poetry, history, biography, and political philosophy. The quotes below are attributed to Christine de Pizan, organized by topic.
Christine de Pizan on Justice
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Attributed to Christine de Pizan:
“A heart hardened by hatred can hardly be the seat of justice.”
Christine de Pizan on Knowledge
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Attributed to Christine de Pizan:
“Not all men, especially the wisest, share the opinion that it is bad for women to be educated.”
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Attributed to Christine de Pizan:
“If it were customary to send little girls to school and to teach them the same subjects as are taught to boys, they would learn just as fully and would understand the subtleties of all arts and sciences.”
Christine de Pizan on Time
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Attributed to Christine de Pizan:
“What more can I say? Time will reveal the wisdom of women.”
Christine de Pizan on Truth
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Attributed to Christine de Pizan:
“Just the sight of this book made me wonder how it happened that so many different men have been so inclined to express in their treatises so many wicked insults about women.”
Christine de Pizan on Virtue
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Attributed to Christine de Pizan:
“Here is the City of Ladies, founded and built for all virtuous and honourable ladies.”