Joseph de Maistre, "Tenth Dialogue" in St. Petersburg Dialogues (1821)
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Genius does not seem to derive any great support from syllogisms. Its carriage is free; its manner has a touch of inspiration. We see it come, but we never see it walk.

— Joseph de Maistre on Genius

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Genius does not seem to derive any great support from syllogisms. Its carriage is free; its manner has a touch of inspiration. We see it come, but we never see it walk." in the context of "Joseph de Maistre, "Tenth Dialogue" in St. Petersburg Dialogues (1821)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Genius" (M) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Joseph de Maistre

About Joseph de Maistre

Joseph de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer and diplomat who advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immediately following the French Revolution. Despite his close personal and intellectual ties with France, Maistre was throughout his life a subject of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which he served as a member of the Savoy Senate (1787–1792), ambassador to Russia (1803–1817) and minister of state to the court in Turin (1817–1821).