Olympia Morata Quotes
Olympia Morata was an Italian Renaissance humanist philosopher, classical scholar, and Protestant convert, prodigy of the court of Ferrara who, after marriage to a German Lutheran physician, fled with him to the Holy Roman Empire to escape Catholic persecution. Her Latin and Greek dialogues, letters, and poems, gathered after her early death by her widower and printed in successive editions in Basel, defended a serious philosophical and religious vocation for women on the basis of the reformed humanist union of classical learning and evangelical faith. The quotes below are attributed to Olympia Morata, organized by topic.
Olympia Morata on God
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Attributed to Olympia Morata:
“Faith and learning are not rivals; the love of God and the love of letters are sisters.”
Olympia Morata on Knowledge
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Attributed to Olympia Morata:
“Greek and Latin are the keys to wisdom; they are not the property of one sex.”
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Attributed to Olympia Morata:
“I write to you in the language of Cicero, but in the spirit of the Gospel.”
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Attributed to Olympia Morata:
“It is no light thing for a woman to set down her thoughts; the world will hold her to a higher standard than it holds men.”
Olympia Morata on Truth
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Attributed to Olympia Morata:
“What is true is true in any tongue, and shines no less brightly when a woman writes it.”