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
It has never occurred to me to wish for empire or royalty, nor for the eminence of those high and commanding fortunes. My aim lies not in that direction; I love myself too well.
~The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them ~
The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them... Whether you find satisfaction in life depends not on your tale of years, but on your will.
I have ever loved to repose myself, whether sitting or lying, with my heels as high or higher than my head.
He who is not sure of his memory, should not undertake the trade of lying.
It is not without good reason, that he who has not a good memory should never take upon him the trade of lying.
Lying is a terrible vice, it testifies that one despises God, but fears men.
What kind of truth is it which has these mountains as its boundary and is a lie beyond them?
The public weal requires that men should betray, and lie, and massacre.
Unless a man feels he has a good enough memory, he should never venture to lie.
I do myself a greater injury in lying than I do him of whom I tell a lie.
The advantage of living is not measured by length, but by use; some men have lived long, and lived little; attend to it while you are in it. It lies in your will, not in the number of years, for you to have lived enough.
Who does not in some sort live to others, does not live much to himself.
In plain truth, lying is an accursed vice. We are not men, nor have any other tie upon another, but by our word.