The true birthplace is that wherein for the first time one looks intelligently upon oneself; my first homelands have been books.
• p. 33
• p. 33
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Le véritable lieu de naissance est celui où l'on a porté pour la première fois un coup d'oeil intelligent sur soi-même: mes premières patries ont été des livres.
— Marguerite Yourcenar
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Le véritable lieu de naissance est celui où l'on a porté pour la première fois un coup d'oeil intelligent sur soi-même: mes premières patries ont été des livres." in the context of "The true birthplace is that wherein for the first time one looks intelligently upon oneself; my first homelands have been books.
• p. 33" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Marguerite Yourcenar" (Quotes, Memoirs of Hadrian (1951): Mémoires d'Hadrien, English translation by Grace Frick in collaboration with Marguerite Yourcenar (1984), The page numbers below are from the English translation.)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Cleenewerck de Crayencour (June 8 1903 – December 17 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist who wrote under the pseudonym Marguerite Yourcenar. She was the first woman to be elected to the Académie française.
About Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Cleenewerck de Crayencour (June 8 1903 – December 17 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist who wrote under the pseudonym Marguerite Yourcenar. She was the first woman to be elected to the Académie française.
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