Christine de Pizan

“Indeed, not all men are so base and so bad as to want to abuse women, for there are some who have a good conscience, and some who are very wise, and some who have a strong love for virtue.”

“For this reason, the man who is cowardly and lazy in his soul is mocked by everyone, and there is no one who would not say that it is better to be a woman than such a man.”

“A woman with a mind is fit for any task.”

“If it were customary to send daughters to school like sons, and if they were then taught the same subjects, they would learn as thoroughly and understand the subtleties of all arts and sciences as well as sons.”

“Just as women’s bodies are softer than men’s, so their understanding is sharper.”

“Ah, child, how lost you are! And how you have been abused by the long-standing opinion of others.”

“Similarly, not all opinions of men are based on reason.”

“How was she created? I'm not sure if you realize this, but the God who created the first man, wishing to give him a companion, took one of his ribs and created a woman. And she was created in the image of God.”

“A man’s dignity isn’t measured by the people he has around him when he’s at the peak of his success, but by his ability to support those who are around him in his most difficult times.”

“Not 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 displeased them that women knew more than they did.”

“The 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 of conduct and virtues.”

“That is to say, that the memory of the good is a second life.”

“I was stunned and my spirit seemed to be in a stupor as I asked God why He had not let me be born a man.”