All the world knows me in my book, and my book in me.
Michel De MontaigneRead
No-one is exempt from speaking nonsense – the only misfortune is to do it solemnly.
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 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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