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
All of the days go toward death and the last one arrives there.
We are nearer neighbours to ourselves than whiteness to snow, or weight to stones.
We are born to inquire after truth; it belongs to a greater power to possess it. It is not, as Democritus said, hid in the bottom of the deeps, but rather elevated to an infinite height in the divine knowledge.
I moreover affirm that our wisdom itself, and wisest consultations, for the most part commit themselves to the conduct of chance.
As for extraordinary things, all the provision in the world would not suffice.
In my opinion , every rich man is a miser.
The diversity of physical arguments and opinions embraces all sorts of methods.
All the opinions in the world point out that pleasure is our aim.
Few men are admired by their servants.
Laws are maintained in credit, not because they are essentially just, but because they are laws. It is the mystical foundation of their authority; they have none other.
Everyone gives the title of barbarism to everything that is not in use in his own country.
To call out for the hand of the enemy is a rather extreme measure, yet a better one, I think, than to remain in continual fever over an accident that has no remedy. But since all the precautions that a man can take are full of uneasiness and uncertainty, it is better to prepare with fine assurance for the worst that can happen, and derive some consolation from the fact that we are not sure that it will happen.
Whatever can be done another day can be done today.
A man may be humble through vainglory.