Michel de Montaigne quotes, with sources
French Renaissance writer whose Essays helped invent the personal essay as a form of self-examination. Here are 12 short quotes by Michel de Montaigne (1533 – 1592), each with the work it comes from, drawn from 9 sources.
There are defeats more triumphant than victories.
He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears.
The soul that has no established aim loses itself.
The premeditation of death is the premeditation of liberty.
The most manifest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness.
The greatest thing in the world is for a man to know that he is his own.
The utility of living consists not in the length of days, but in the use of time.
Nothing is so firmly believed, as what we least know.
I have no more made my book than my book has made me.
Where death waits for us is uncertain; let us look for him everywhere.
Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.
I study myself more than any other subject.
Sources
- Essays
- Essays, Book I, Ch. VIII, Of Idleness
- Essays, Book I, Ch. XIX, That to Study Philosophy is to Learn to Die
- Essays, Book I, Ch. XXV, Of the Education of Children
- Essays, Book I, Ch. XXXI, That a Man is Soberly to Judge of the Divine Ordinances
- Essays, Book I, Ch. XXXVIII, Of Solitude
- Essays, Book II, Ch. XVII, Of Presumption
- Essays, Book II, Ch. XVIII, Of Giving the Lie
- Essays, Book III, Ch. XIII, Of Experience
Themes
Stoicism Courage Wisdom Growth Purpose Focus Resilience Calm Joy Creativity
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