All the world knows me in my book, and my book in me.
Michel De MontaigneRead
To distract myself from tiresome thoughts, I have only to resort to books; they easily draw my mind to themselves and away from other things.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Books provide a means to escape from burdensome thoughts and engage the mind.
In this quote, Michel De Montaigne expresses the idea that reading can serve as a refuge from the weariness of daily life and troubling thoughts. Books have the power to captivate our attention and redirect our focus, allowing us to immerse ourselves in different worlds and ideas, which can offer solace and mental relief.
Themes
BooksThoughtsDistractionMindReading
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of literature, one could say, 'To distract myself from tiresome thoughts, I have only to resort to books.'
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.
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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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