--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [The Germans] so easily confuse obstinacy…" description: "\"[The Germans] so easily confuse obstinacy with energy, and rudeness with firmness.\" — Madame de Stael" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/madame-de-stael-2069_energy_the-germans-so-easily-confuse-obstinacy_529209.jpg" --- # \[The Germans\] so easily confuse obstinacy with energy, and… ![“[The Germans] so easily confuse obstinacy with energy, and rudeness with firmness.” quote by Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/madame-de-stael-2069_energy_the-germans-so-easily-confuse-obstinacy_529209.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/madame-de-stael-2069_energy_the-germans-so-easily-confuse-obstinacy_529209.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7d2/madame-de-stael-2069_energy_the-germans-so-easily-confuse-obstinacy_529209.jpg) > “\[The Germans\] so easily confuse obstinacy with energy, and rudeness with firmness.” [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques the tendency to mistake stubbornness for vigor and rudeness for firmness, highlighting a confusion of traits. **In simple terms:** People often confuse stubbornness with energy and rudeness with firmness. Key Takeaway Distinguish true strength from mere obstinacy. Themes character perception leadership Mood analytical critical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - political debate - team management - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology social behavior Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate genuine determination from obstinacy? - When does firmness become rudeness? A Different Perspective Strong traits can be misread as negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Europe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/europe/) [Obstinacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obstinacy/) [Rudeness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rudeness/) ## Related quotes > [Firmness or stiffness of the mind is not from adherence to truth, but submission to prejudice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-locke/firmness-or-stiffness-of-the-mind-is-not-from-adherence-to-truth-but/) [John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-locke/) > [Steadfastness is a noble quality, but unguided by knowledge or humility, it becomes rashness, or obstinacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-swartz/steadfastness-is-a-noble-quality-but-unguided-by-knowledge-or-2/) [Aaron Swartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-swartz/) > [“We love being mentally strong, but we hate situations that allow us to put our mental strength to good use.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/we-love-being-mentally-strong-but-we-hate-situations-that-allow-us-to/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Obstinacy is the strength of the weak. Firmness founded upon principle, upon the truth and right, order and law, duty and generosity, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-kaspar-lavater/obstinacy-is-the-strength-of-the-weak-firmness-founded-upon-principle/) [Johann Kaspar Lavater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-kaspar-lavater/) > [A nation ignorant of the equal benefits of liberty and law, must be awed by the flashes of arbitrary power: the cruelty of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/a-nation-ignorant-of-the-equal-benefits-of-liberty-and-law-must-be/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [The shortest route is not the most direct one, but rather the one where the most favorable winds swell our sails:Mthat is the lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-shortest-route-is-not-the-most-direct-one-but-rather-the-one/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Obstinacy, sir, is certainly a great vice; and in the changeful state of political affairs it is frequently the cause of great mischief. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/obstinacy-sir-is-certainly-a-great-vice-and-in-the-changeful-state-of/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [But I liked you from the moment I first heard your voice,” he said, “when I had no idea what you looked like. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-chase/but-i-liked-you-from-the-moment-i-first-heard-your-voice-he-said-when/) [Loretta Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-chase/) > [If self is a location, so is love: Bearings taken, markings, cardinal points, Options, obstinacies, dug heels, and distance, Here and there and now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/if-self-is-a-location-so-is-love-bearings-taken-markings-cardinal/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Make something, a kind of object, which as it changes or falls apart (dies as it were) or increases in its parts (grows as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-johns/make-something-a-kind-of-object-which-as-it-changes-or-falls-apart/) [Jasper Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-johns/) > [Stiff opinion, always in the wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/stiff-opinion-always-in-the-wrong/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [Many are obstinate with regard to the pathway once they have set upon it, few with regard to the goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/many-are-obstinate-with-regard-to-the-pathway-once-they-have-set-upon/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Stubbornness is a weapon. People tend to draw it out when a sensitive part of their identity is threatened—be it dignity, honor, pride, desires,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/stubbornness-is-a-weapon-people-tend-to-draw-it-out-when-a-sensitive/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [These are the men who, without virtue, labour, or hazard, are growing rich, as their country is impoverished; they rejoice, when obstinacy or ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/these-are-the-men-who-without-virtue-labour-or-hazard-are-growing/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The Roman world is in collapse but we do not bend our neck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/the-roman-world-is-in-collapse-but-we-do-not-bend-our-neck/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) ## More by Madame de Stael > [Good taste cannot supply the place of genius in literature, for the best proof of taste, when there is no genius, would be, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/good-taste-cannot-supply-the-place-of-genius-in-literature-for-the/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [There is no reality on this earth except religion and the power of love; all the rest is even more fugitive than life itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/there-is-no-reality-on-this-earth-except-religion-and-the-power-of/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [in Italy, almost at every step, history and poetry add to the graces of nature, sweeten the memory of the past, and seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/in-italy-almost-at-every-step-history-and-poetry-add-to-the-graces-of/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [ \[Ridicule\] laughs at all those who see the earnestness of life and who still believe in true feelings and in serious thought ... It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/ridicule-laughs-at-all-those-who-see-the-earnestness-of-life-and-who/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Ought not every woman, like every man, to follow the bent of her own talents?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/ought-not-every-woman-like-every-man-to-follow-the-bent-of-her-own/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [The more we know the better we forgive. Whoever feels deeply, feels for all who live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-more-we-know-the-better-we-forgive-whoever-feels-deeply-feels-for/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Let us then blend everything: love, religion, genius, with sunshine, perfume, music, and poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/let-us-then-blend-everything-love-religion-genius-with-sunshine/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Man's most valuable faculty is his imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/man-s-most-valuable-faculty-is-his-imagination/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Taste is to literature what bon ton is in society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/taste-is-to-literature-what-bon-ton-is-in-society/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [A voyage without companionship, that is to say without conversation, is one of the saddest pleasures of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/a-voyage-without-companionship-that-is-to-say-without-conversation-is/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [However old a conjugal union, it still garners some sweetness. Winter has some cloudless days, and under the snow a few flowers still bloom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/however-old-a-conjugal-union-it-still-garners-some-sweetness-winter/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [The sight of such a monument is like continual and stationary music, which one hears for one's good as one approaches it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-sight-of-such-a-monument-is-like-continual-and-stationary-music/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [If we would succeed in works of the imagination, we must offer a mild morality in the midst of rigid manners; but where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/if-we-would-succeed-in-works-of-the-imagination-we-must-offer-a-mild/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [Innocence in genius, and candor in power, are both noble qualities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/innocence-in-genius-and-candor-in-power-are-both-noble-qualities/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) > [“The human mind always makes progress, but it is a progress made in spirals.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madame-de-stael/the-human-mind-always-makes-progress-but-it-is-a-progress-made-in/) [Madame de Stael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) [Explore all 187 Madame de Stael quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madame-de-stael/) ## More Energy quotes > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. 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