More Montaigne: Quotes from the Autobiography:
Posted: October 20, 2026 Filed under: books, writers Leave a commentWe must not in our decrepitude impose upon our judgement. When I was young, I had sense enough to see the vice that lies in pleasure; and now, despite the dulling of my palate, I can still see the pleasure that lies in vice.
To give yourself over to Nature with the utmost simplicity is to do so with the utmost wisdom. Oh…[how] wholesome are ignorance and curiosity—for the rightly formed head.
To learn that you have said or done a foolish thing is nothing. You must learn that you are nothing but a fool—a much more comprehensive and valuable lesson.
All I have reaped from my learning merely goes to show me how much more I have to learn.
Dogmatism and assertiveness are the express signs of stupidity.
It is by my own experience that I accuse mankind of ignorance; and this, I believe, is the most fertile lesson to be learn in the school of the world.
So, too, we must learn to endure what we cannot evade.
As living grows briefer, I must make it grow deeper.
I have always observed a singular accord between supercelestial ideas and subterranean behavior.
Even when perched on the loftiest throne in the world, we are still sitting on our own behind.
The most beautiful lives, in my opinion, are those which conform to the common and human nature—orderly, but without miracle or extravagance.
