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No-one is exempt from speaking nonsense – the only misfortune is to do it solemnly.
Michel De Montaigne
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Everyone occasionally speaks nonsense, but the real issue arises when one takes it too seriously.

In this quote, Michel De Montaigne highlights the universal truth that all individuals express nonsensical ideas at some point. The quote suggests that the lack of humor and seriousness in the way we communicate nonsense can lead to misfortune, as it undermines genuine communication and understanding.

Themes

NonsenseSeriousnessCommunicationHumorTruth

In practice

Example use cases

During a lighthearted talk at a party, this quote can be shared to encourage laughter.

More from Michel De Montaigne

All the world knows me in my book, and my book in me.
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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.
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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.
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There is not much less vexation in the government of a private family than in the managing of an entire state.
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Those who have compared our life to a dream were right... we were sleeping wake, and waking sleep.
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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.
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