Emilie du Chatelet Quotes
Gabrielle-Emilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, Marquise du Chatelet, was a French Enlightenment philosopher, mathematician, and physicist. The translator and commentator on Newton's Principia for French readers, a version that remained the standard one for two centuries, she also produced the Foundations of Physics, a synthesis of Newtonian physics with the metaphysics of Leibniz and Wolff. The quotes below are attributed to Emilie du Chatelet, organized by topic.
Emilie du Chatelet on Freedom
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Attributed to Emilie du Chatelet:
“Judge me for my own merits, or lack of them, but do not look upon me as a mere appendage to a great man.”
Emilie du Chatelet on Happiness
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Attributed to Emilie du Chatelet:
“We must love study to be happy.”
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Attributed to Emilie du Chatelet:
“Happiness depends on a few things: good health, the absence of sorrow, the satisfaction of one's tastes, and the cultivation of one's passions.”
Emilie du Chatelet on Mind
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Attributed to Emilie du Chatelet:
“I had to think about what I was reading; I had to think about my own thinking.”
Emilie du Chatelet on Virtue
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Attributed to Emilie du Chatelet:
“Let us reflect upon what we owe to ourselves, and not what we owe to others.”