All the world knows me in my book, and my book in me.
Michel De MontaigneRead
It is a monstrous thing that I will say, but I will say it all the same: I find in many things more restraint and order in my morals than in my opinions, and my lust less depraved than my reason.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Montaigne expresses the struggle between personal morals and rational opinion, suggesting that emotions can be less corrupt than structured thought.
In this quote, Michel De Montaigne reflects on the complexity of human nature, suggesting that his moral compass often holds more restraint and order than the opinions he formulates. He challenges the idea that reason, typically associated with clarity and discernment, can sometimes lead to more depraved thoughts than one's innate desires, highlighting a tension between emotion and intellect that resonates throughout philosophical discourse.
Themes
MoralsReasonOpinionsDesireHuman Nature
In practice
Example use cases
In a philosophical debate about ethics, this quote could be used to illustrate the conflict between rational thought and emotional intuition.
More from Michel De Montaigne
All quotes →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.
Michel De MontaigneRead
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.
Michel De MontaigneRead
There is not much less vexation in the government of a private family than in the managing of an entire state.
Michel De MontaigneRead
Those who have compared our life to a dream were right... we were sleeping wake, and waking sleep.
Michel De MontaigneRead
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.
Michel De MontaigneRead
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