Christine de PizanOnce a man criticized my desire for knowledge by saying that it was not fitting for a woman to possess learning because there was so little of it. I replied that it was even less … ▶364Politics
Christine de PizanHow many women are there ... who because of their husbands' harshness spend their weary lives in the bond of marriage in greater suffering than if they were slaves among the Sarac… ▶354DeathReading
Christine de PizanJust as women's bodies are softer than men's, so their understanding is sharper.365Death
Christine de PizanCondemning all women in order to help some misguided men get over their foolish behaviour is tantamount to denouncing fire, which is a vital and beneficial element, just because s… ▶355Humanity
Christine de PizanIf you would reflect well and wisely, you would realize that those events you regard as personal misfortunes have served a useful purpose even in this worldly life, and indeed hav… ▶379LifeReflection
Christine de PizanThose who plead their cause in the absence of an opponent can invent to their heart's content, can pontificate without taking into account the opposite point of view and keep the … ▶348Love
Christine de PizanNot all men (and especially the wisest) share the opinion that it is bad for women to be educated. But it is very true that many foolish men have claimed this because it displease… ▶251DeathReadingTruth
Christine de PizanYet if women are so flighty, fickle, changeable, susceptible, and inconstant (as some clerks would have us believe), why is it that their suitors have to resort to such trickery t… ▶287Reading
Christine de PizanIf it were customary to send little girls to school and teach them the same subjects as are taught to boys, they would learn just as fully and would understand the subtleties of a… ▶223Reflection
Christine de PizanIf it were customary to send daughters to school like sons, and if they were then taught the natural sciences, they would learn as thoroughly and understand the subtleties of all … ▶2810DeathReading
Christine de PizanThere Adam slept, and God formed the body of woman from one of his ribs, signifying that she should stand at his side as a companion and never lie at his feet like a slave, and al… ▶235DeathLoveReading
Christine de PizanDoes a rake deserve to possess anything of worth, since he chases everything in skirts and then imagines he can successfully hide his shame by slandering [women in general]?215Philosophy
Christine de PizanWomen particularly should concern themselves with peace because men by nature are more foolhardy and headstrong, and their overwhelming desire to avenge themselves prevents them f… ▶172Philosophy
Christine de PizanMen who have slandered the opposite sex have usually known women who were cleverer and more virtuous than they are.175Politics
Christine de PizanThe man or the woman in whom resides greater virtue is the higher; neither the loftiness nor the lowliness of a person lies in the body according to the sex, but in the perfection… ▶219DeathReading
Christine de PizanAh, child and youth, if you knew the bliss which resides in the taste of knowledge, and the evil and ugliness that lies in ignorance, how well you are advised to not complain of t… ▶188Sadness
