Michel de Montaigne
Michel de Montaigne
Michel Eyquem de Montaignewas one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance, known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. His work is noted for its merging of casual anecdotes and autobiography with serious intellectual insight; his massive volume Essaiscontains some of the most influential essays ever written. Montaigne had a direct influence on writers all over the world, including Francis Bacon, René Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Albert Hirschman, William Hazlitt, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friedrich Nietzsche,...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth28 February 1533
CountryFrance
Friendship is the highest degree of perfection in society.
I have often seen people uncivil by too much civility, and tiresome in their courtesy.
Silence and modesty are very valuable qualities in conversation.
Men are nothing until they are excited.
I do not teach. I relate.
My reason is not framed to bend or stoop: my knees are.
To understand via the heart is not to understand.
If your doctor does not think it good for you to sleep, to drink wine, or to eat of a particular dish, do not worry; I will find you another who will not agree with him.
All other knowledge is hurtful to him who has not honesty and good-nature
It is easier to write an indifferent poem than to understand a good one.
Oh, what a valiant faculty is hope.
There is some shadow of delight and delicacy which smiles upon and flatters us even in the very lap of melancholy.
God sends the cold according to the coat.
The shortest way to arrive at glory would be to do that for conscience which we do for glory.