Nature clasps all her creatures in a universal embrace; there is not one of them which she has not plainly furnished with all means necessary to the conservation of its being.
Michel de Montaigne
Nature, Universality, Providence, Existence, Philosophy
Michel de Montaigne’s Quotes On Topics
Identity | Nobility | Cultural Differences | Deception | Intellectual Pursuit | Human Emotion | Goals | Attitude | Intellectual Stimulation | Ethnocentrism | Life Lessons | Opportunity | Conversation | Solace | Health | Intellect | Human Connection | Intellectual Critique | Procrastination | Courtesy | More
More Michel de Montaigne Quotes
“Knowledge is an excellent drug; but no drug has virtue enough to preserve itself from corruption and decay, if the vessel be tainted and impure wherein it is put to keep.” Michel de Montaigne
Knowledge, Corruption, Wisdom, Human Nature, Metaphor
Michel de Montaigne Knowledge, Corruption, Wisdom, Human Nature, Metaphor“Truly man is a marvelously vain, diverse, and undulating object. It is hard to found any constant and uniform judgment on him.” Michel de Montaigne
Human Nature, Complexity, Judgment, Diversity, Philosophy
Michel de Montaigne Human Nature, Complexity, Judgment, Diversity, Philosophy“Rejoice in the things that are present; all else is beyond thee.” Michel de Montaigne
Present Moment, Joy, Wisdom, Human Nature, Contentment
Michel de Montaigne Present Moment, Joy, Wisdom, Human Nature, Contentment“No doctor takes pleasure in the health even of his friends.” Michel de Montaigne
Profession, Friendship, Human Nature, Irony, Health
Michel de Montaigne Profession, Friendship, Human Nature, Irony, Health“Let every foot have its own shoe.” Michel de Montaigne
Individuality, Fit, Human Nature, Wisdom, Metaphor
Michel de Montaigne Individuality, Fit, Human Nature, Wisdom, Metaphor“Experience has further taught me this, that we ruin ourselves by impatience.” Michel de Montaigne
Patience, Experience, Self-destruction, Wisdom, Human Nature
Michel de Montaigne Patience, Experience, Self-destruction, Wisdom, Human Nature“Truth and reason are common to everyone, and are no more his who spake them first than his who speaks them after.” Michel de Montaigne
Truth, Reason, Universality, Wisdom, Human Nature
Michel de Montaigne Truth, Reason, Universality, Wisdom, Human Nature“Ceremony forbids us to express by words things that are lawful and natural, and we obey it; reason forbids us to do things unlawful and ill, and nobody obeys it.” Michel de Montaigne
Social Norms, Reason, Human Behavior, Morality, Societal Critique
Michel de Montaigne Social Norms, Reason, Human Behavior, Morality, Societal Critique“I want death to find me planting my cabbages, but careless of death, and still more of my unfinished garden.” Michel de Montaigne
Death, Life, Purpose, Contentment, Perspective
Michel de Montaigne Death, Life, Purpose, Contentment, Perspective“Oh senseless man, who cannot possibly make a worm or a flea and yet will create Gods by the dozen!” Michel de Montaigne
Religion, Human Nature, Creation, Hubris, Irony
Michel de Montaigne Religion, Human Nature, Creation, Hubris, Irony“Stupidity and wisdom meet in the same centre of sentiment and resolution, in the suffering of human accidents.” Michel de Montaigne
Wisdom, Stupidity, Suffering, Human Condition, Paradox
Michel de Montaigne Wisdom, Stupidity, Suffering, Human Condition, Paradox“If my mind could gain a firm footing, I would not make essays, I would make decisions; but it is always in apprenticeship and on trial.” Michel de Montaigne
Mind, Decision-making, Uncertainty, Learning, Human Nature
Michel de Montaigne Mind, Decision-making, Uncertainty, Learning, Human Nature“The general order of things that takes care of fleas and moles also takes care of men, if they will have the same patience that fleas and moles have, to leave it to itself.” Michel de Montaigne
Nature, Patience, Human Condition, Order, Philosophical Reflection
Michel de Montaigne Nature, Patience, Human Condition, Order, Philosophical Reflection“We imagine much more appropriately an artisan on his toilet seat or on his wife than a great president, venerable by his demeanor and his ability. It seems to us that they do not stoop from their lofty thrones even to live.” Michel de Montaigne
Perception, Power, Human Nature, Equality, Critique
Michel de Montaigne Perception, Power, Human Nature, Equality, Critique“The souls of emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mold. The same reason that makes us wrangle with a neighbor creates a war betwixt princes.” Michel de Montaigne
Equality, Human Nature, Conflict, Social Hierarchy, Universality
Michel de Montaigne Equality, Human Nature, Conflict, Social Hierarchy, Universality“Greatness of soul consists not so much in soaring high and in pressing forward, as in knowing how to adapt and limit oneself.” Michel de Montaigne
Greatness, Adaptation, Self-limitation, Wisdom, Human Nature
Michel de Montaigne Greatness, Adaptation, Self-limitation, Wisdom, Human Nature“Marriage is like a cage; one sees the birds outside desperate to get in, and those inside equally desperate to get out.” Michel de Montaigne
Marriage, Freedom, Relationships, Human Nature, Irony
Michel de Montaigne Marriage, Freedom, Relationships, Human Nature, Irony“We are Christians by the same title as we are natives of Perigord or Germany.” Michel de Montaigne
Religion, Nationality, Identity, Human Nature, Cultural Influence
Michel de Montaigne Religion, Nationality, Identity, Human Nature, Cultural Influence“Neither good nor ill is done to us by Fortune: she merely offers us the matter and the seeds: our soul, more powerful than she is, can mould it or sow them as she pleases, being the only cause and mistress of our happy state or our unhappiness.” Michel de Montaigne
Fortune, Free Will, Happiness, Soul, Personal Responsibility
Michel de Montaigne Fortune, Free Will, Happiness, Soul, Personal Responsibility