Michel de Montaigne quotes | Thousands Of Quotes

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The public weal requires that men should betray, and lie, and massacre.

Michel de Montaigne

Men

Lie

Public

My trade and art is to live.

Michel de Montaigne

Art

Trade

My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened.

Michel de Montaigne

Life

Marriage, a market which has nothing free but the entrance.

Michel de Montaigne

Marriage

Nothing

Marriage is like a cage; one sees the birds outside desperate to get in, and those inside equally desperate to get out.

Michel de Montaigne

Marriage

Birds

Make your educational laws strict and your criminal ones can be gentle; but if you leave youth its liberty you will have to dig dungeons for ages.

Love to his soul gave eyes; he knew things are not as they seem. The dream is his real life; the world around him is the dream.

Let us permit nature to have her way. She understands her business better than we do.

Michel de Montaigne

Business

Nature

Let us not be ashamed to speak what we shame not to think.

Michel de Montaigne

Shame

It should be noted that children at play are not playing about; their games should be seen as their most serious-minded activity.

Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.

Michel de Montaigne

Being

Events

There is no desire more natural than the desire for knowledge.

Michel de Montaigne

Knowledge

Desire

When I play with my cat, who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her.

Michel de Montaigne

Play

We only labor to stuff the memory, and leave the conscience and the understanding unfurnished and void.

We can be knowledgable with other men's knowledge but we cannot be wise with other men's wisdom.