Marie de Gournay Quotes
Marie le Jars de Gournay was a French writer, editor, and philosopher, the adopted daughter and literary executor of Michel de Montaigne. After Montaigne's death she edited his Essays and wrote a major preface defending his work, while pursuing an independent career as a polemicist, translator, and theorist of language. The quotes below are attributed to Marie de Gournay, organized by topic.
Marie de Gournay on Freedom
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Attributed to Marie de Gournay:
“Any creature that thinks is fitted to be free.”
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Attributed to Marie de Gournay:
“Custom is the greatest tyrant of all.”
Marie de Gournay on Nature
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Attributed to Marie de Gournay:
“The differences in capacity between men and women arise from education, not from nature.”
Marie de Gournay on Politics
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Attributed to Marie de Gournay:
“There is no greater calamity than the suppression of the mind of a whole half of humanity.”
Marie de Gournay on Truth
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Attributed to Marie de Gournay:
“Women, by nature, are equal to men in mind.”