Madame de Staël by François Gérard, circa 1810 French writer Germaine de Staë
Madame de Staël by François Gérard, circa 1810 French writer Germaine de Staël died on July 14, 1817, at the age of 51. John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, met her in Russia in 1812 and again in France in 1815 (both times were before he became president). After their first meeting, he wrote: I found her better conversant with rhetoric than logic. She had much to say about social order, much about universal monarchy, much about the preservation of religion – in which she gave me to understand she did not herself believe – and much about the ambition and tyranny of Bonaparte, upon which she soon discovered there was no difference of sentiment between us. But why did not America join in the holy cause against this tyrant? First, because America had no means of making war against him: she could neither attack him by sea nor land. Second, because it was a fundamental maxim of American policy never to intermeddle with the political affairs of Europe. Thirdly, because it was altogether unnecessary. He had enemies enough upon his hands already. For more about their encounters, see “When John Quincy Adams Met Madame de Staël.” -- source link
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