Madame de Stael 1766 – 1817
Anne-Louise-Germaine de Stael, known as Madame de Stael, was a French-Swiss writer, philosopher, and woman of letters who shaped the literary and political thought of her age. Daughter of Necker, finance minister to Louis XVI, and salonniere of one of the most influential Parisian salons, she was repeatedly exiled by Napoleon for the independence of her thought. Her Of Germany introduced French readers to the philosophy and literature of Goethe, Schiller, and the German Romantics, while her Considerations on the French Revolution offered one of the first liberal histories of that event.
Key facts
- Nationality
- French-Swiss
- Era
- Modern
- Movements
- Enlightenment
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Madame de Stael:
“To understand all is to forgive all.”
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Attributed to Madame de Stael:
“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.”
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Attributed to Madame de Stael:
“Love is the emblem of eternity; it confounds all notion of time.”
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Attributed to Madame de Stael:
“Wit lies in recognizing the resemblance among things which differ and the difference between things which are alike.”
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Attributed to Madame de Stael:
“Travel is one of the saddest pleasures of life.”