“Men do not change; they unmask themselves.”

— Anne Louise Germaine de Staël

Quoted in Invasion of the Party Snatchers : How the Holy-Rollers and the Neo-Cons Destroyed the GOP (2008) by Victor Gold

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Men do not change; they unmask themselves." by Anne Louise Germaine de Staël?

Anne Louise Germaine de Staël photo

Anne Louise Germaine de Staël42

Swiss author 1766–1817

Related quotes

“Fortune does not change men, it unmasks them.”

Suzanne Curchod (1737–1794) French-Swiss salonist and writer

Reported in "The Viking Book of Aphorisms: A Personal Selection" By Wystan Hugh Auden, Louis Kronenberger (1981)

“Money doesn't change men. It merely unmasks them. If a man is naturally selfish, or arrogant, or greedy, the money brings it out; that's all.”

Henry Ford (1863–1947) American industrialist

Interview with Bruce Barton, "It Would Be Fun To Start Over Again," The American Magazine, April 1921

“That is the difference between gods and men. Gods can change themselves; humans can only be changed.”

Cees Nooteboom book The Following Story

The Following Story (1991)

“Generally, women can't do this, but men retain the ancient ability to leave a family and a past. They just unhook themselves, like removing a fake beard, and skulk discreetly back into society, changed men. Unrecognizable.”

Zadie Smith book White Teeth

Source: White Teeth

“… when men like us do change, the change is profound.”

Kresley Cole American writer

Source: If You Deceive

“It is not true that men never change; they change for the worse, as well as for the better. It is not true they are ungrateful; more often the benefactor rates his favors higher than their worth; and often too he does not allow for circumstances. If few men have the moral force to resist impulses, most men do carry within themselves the germs of virtues as well as of vices, of heroism as well as of cowardice. Such is human nature — education and circumstances do the rest.”

Napoleon I of France (1769–1821) French general, First Consul and later Emperor of the French

Napoleon : In His Own Words (1916)

“It is probably true to say that the largest scope for change still lies in men’s attitude to women, and in women’s attitude to themselves.”

Vera Brittain (1893–1970) English writer

Lady into Woman (1953), Chapter 15

“A great many men are mad, and no one knows it. They do not know it themselves”

Agatha Christie The Secret Adversary

Source: The Secret Adversary

“If men will not act for themselves, what will they do when the benefit of their effort is for all?”

Elbert Hubbard book A Message to Garcia

A Message to Garcia (1899)

“Empower the useless people who do not know how to empower themselves. That is the beginning of change and progress.”

Related topics