Madame de Staël

Politeness is the art of choosing among your thoughts.

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.

The mystery of existence is the connection between our faults and our misfortunes.

Search for the truth is the noblest occupation of man; its publication is a duty.

Sow good services: sweet remembrances will grow from them.

The greatest happiness is to transform one's feelings into action.

The human mind always makes progress, but it is a progress in spirals.

The desire of the man is for the woman, but the desire of the woman is for the desire of the man.

The sense of this word among the Greeks affords the noblest definition of it; enthusiasm signifies God in us.

Madame de Staël defined exile as "a tomb in which you can get mail."