All the world knows me in my book, and my book in me.
Michel De MontaigneRead
A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears.
Interpretation
Fearing suffering itself can lead to a state of suffering.
This quote by Michel De Montaigne highlights the paradox of fear, particularly the fear of suffering. It suggests that when a person constantly fears the potential of suffering, they are essentially undermining their own peace of mind, as the anticipation of pain can be more debilitating than the pain itself when it occurs. Therefore, recognizing and facing our fears can liberate us from unnecessary distress.
In practice
During a motivational speech about overcoming personal fears.
All the world knows me in my book, and my book in me.
All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I should not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed.
Pythagoras used to say that life resembles the Olympic Games: a few people strain their muscles to carry off a prize; others bring trinkets to sell to the crowd for gain; and some there are, and not the worst, who seek no other profit than to look at the show and see how and why everything is done; spectators of the life of other people in order to judge and regulate their own.
There is not much less vexation in the government of a private family than in the managing of an entire state.
Those who have compared our life to a dream were right... we were sleeping wake, and waking sleep.
Such as are in immediate fear of a losing their estates, of banishment, or of slavery, live in perpetual anguish, and lose all appetite and repose; whereas such as are actually poor, slaves, or exiles, ofttimes live as merrily as other folk.
Stunned and still not suffering. Swollen with care and anxiety and still not suffering. Useless, old and full of grief, but still not suffering.
I was lucky to learn early in life that you need money for food and shelter, but there's no ambition in having money in the bank for the sake of it!
Wherever you are is the entry point.
Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course.
Until you have learned to be tolerant with those who do not always agree with you, you will be neither successful nor happy.
My heart is so small it's almost invisible. How can You place such big sorrows in it? "Look," He answered, "your eyes are even smaller, yet they behold the world.
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