Michel de Montaigne

France
28 Feb 1533 // 13 Sep 1592
Essayist / Writer

Quotes

Next >>

No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately
Ignorance is the mother of all evils
I will follow the right side even to the fire, but excluding the fire if I can
Fashion is the science of appearances, and it inspires one with the desire to seem rather than to be
Even on the most exalted throne in the world we are only sitting on our own bottom
Every man bears the whole stamp of the human condit
When I play with my cat, who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her
We only labor to stuff the memory, and leave the conscience and the understanding unfurnished and void
We can be knowledgable with other men's knowledge but we cannot be wise with other men's wisdom
Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul
Next >>
Search

 

On Anger: "For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind."
Essays
On Destiny: "Our destiny exercises its influence over us even when, as yet, we have not learned its nature: it is our future that lays down the law of our today."
Human, All Too Human
On Friendship: "A crowd is not company; and faces are but a gallery of pictures; and talk but a tinkling cymbal, where there is no love."
Essays