All the world knows me in my book, and my book in me.
Michel De MontaigneRead
Pride and curiosity are the two scourges of our souls. The latter prompts us to poke our noses into everything, and the former forbids us to leave anything unresolved and undecided.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Pride and curiosity can lead to turmoil within us; curiosity drives us to seek answers, while pride often stops us from accepting uncertainties.
In this quote, Michel De Montaigne reflects on the internal conflicts caused by pride and curiosity. Curiosity drives individuals to explore and understand the world, leading to questions and investigations. However, pride can prevent them from accepting situations or outcomes that are ambiguous or unresolved, creating a struggle within the soul. This interplay signifies the complexity of human nature, where the desire for knowledge can clash with the need for certainty and control.
Themes
PrideCuriositySoulResolveUndecided
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about human behavior, one might quote this to illustrate the conflict between pride and curiosity.
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.
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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.
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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