A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women of Every Age and Country/Saliez
SALIEZ, a French Lady, who married a Magistrate of Alby, who dying left her a young Widow.
Being a woman of excellent understanding, and having a strong desire to improve and cultivate it, she in 1704 formed a society for the sake of an agreeable and refined intercourse; an establishment which made her soon so universally known and admired, that the academy of Padua sent her letters patent, appointing her one of their members. In her letter of thanks to that learned body, she discovers an uncommon degree of solicitude for the honour of her own sex. She laments the want of that elegance of stile in her compositions, which some of her cotemporaries, and other female writers have possessed—but attributes it to a provincial education, and being deprived of the conversation of the beaux esprits of the court and capital, where alone, she says, the flowers of language and elegant turns of expression are to be gathered.
Madame de Saliez also formed a project of establishing a new sect of female philosophers; speaking of which, in a letter to the Marchioness de Montpellier, she says, "the end of this sect, is to live commodiously, and to determine all reasonable women to shake off that yoke of constraint, which error, or custom, have established in the world. But it will be necessary first to consider of some rules, and such as we ought strictly to adhere to. We must reject those who love to speak of their birth, connections, or finery, or in any sort to commend themselves. We must exclude all prudes and coquettes; I think likewise, Madam, it will be right, to banish love from such a society, and substitute in its place, friendship, cordiality, politeness, good humour, and respect towards each other; such respect, I mean, as arises from esteem, not from any consideration of superior birth, fortune, &c. for every one must have the liberty of speaking their own sentiments, without reserve, and offer their opinion, without the least fear of giving offence to others who may differ from them."
The above extract will sufficiently shew the turn of mind this celebrated lady possessed; for though she wrote on a great variety of subjects, both in prose and verse, the honour of her sex, and their equality with men, seemed to be the grand hinge on which most of her writings turned. She lived to a great age, highly esteemed and honoured, and died at Alby, the place of her nativity, in 1730.