Michel de Montaigne Biography

Michel de Montaigne, Philosopher
Occup.Philosopher
FromFrance
BornFebruary 28, 1533
DiedSeptember 13, 1592
Aged59 years
Early Life as well as Family
Michel de Montaigne, a prominent French Renaissance writer as well as philosopher, was born on February 28, 1533, near Bordeaux, France. His full name was Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, and also he was the boy of Pierre Eyquem, an effective seller, and also Antoinette de Louppes. Montaigne grew up in a fortunate home as well as had five bros and also siblings.

His daddy had a solid passion in education and learning and sent Montaigne to the College of Guyenne, a respected school in Bordeaux, at a young age. There, he researched Latin, grammar, rhetoric, and also logic under several distinguished Renaissance humanists. He later on participated in the University of Toulouse to study legislation but did not finish his degree.

Political and also Legal Career
In 1554, Montaigne started his job in legislation and politics, joining the Bordeaux Parlement, France's highest possible court of charms. He married Françoise de La Cassaigne in 1565, as well as they had 6 daughters, just one of whom survived to the adult years. Several years later, Montaigne's father passed away, and also he acquired the household estate, that included the Château de Montaigne and also its extensive lands.

Montaigne proceeded his lawful occupation, as well as in 1571, he was assigned as one of the Bordeaux city councilors. As a councilor, he took care of management, monetary, and lawful issues. During this time, he fulfilled a number of noticeable political as well as literary numbers such as Henry III of France, Charles IX, Mary, Queen of Scots, as well as François Rabelais.

Retirement and Literary Career
In 1571, Montaigne relinquished public life and also devoted himself to creating. He started work with his well-known collection of essays, entitled "Essais". These essays covered a vast array of subjects, including morality, humanity, and also personal identity, and integrated extensive quotations and referrals from classic authors such as Seneca, Plutarch, and Cicero.

Montaigne's composing style was innovative for its time, incorporating individual representation with intellectual questions. He is attributed with popularizing the essay as a literary kind and also was frequently referred to as the "father of the essay".

Montaigne's apprehension and also reflective technique to viewpoint is evident in his renowned quote, "Que sais-je?" (What do I recognize?), which mirrors his questioning of absolute truths and certainty.

Later years and Legacy
Despite his retired life, Montaigne remained to be involved in politics as well as diplomacy throughout the 1580s. He was chosen to moderate disputes in between Henry of Navarre (later on King Henry IV of France) as well as the Catholic League throughout the French Wars of Religion.

In 1592, he functioned as the mayor of Bordeaux, a setting he held till his fatality. Montaigne passed away on September 13, 1592, at his Château de Montaigne, as well as was hidden in the chapel of Saint-Michel.

Montaigne's essays continue to be significant in various areas, consisting of literary works, viewpoint, as well as psychology. His special contributions to the advancement of the essay as a literary form as well as his expedition of human nature and self-awareness secured his setting as an essential figure in the history of Western idea.

His works influenced numerous theorists and writers, such as René Descartes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and also Immanuel Kant. Michel de Montaigne's tradition continues today, with his writings on apprehension, self-enquiry, and individual experience offering inspiration for modern-day thinkers and also writers alike.

Our collection contains 84 quotes who is written / told by Michel, under the main topic Marriage.

Related authors: Cicero (Philosopher), Plutarch (Philosopher), Seneca (Philosopher), Immanuel Kant (Philosopher), Philo (Philosopher), Seneca the Younger (Statesman), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Philosopher), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete)

Michel de Montaigne Famous Works:
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84 Famous quotes by Michel de Montaigne

Small: Ambition is not a vice of little people
"Ambition is not a vice of little people"
Small: A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband
"A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband"
Small: I know well what I am fleeing from but not what I am in search of
"I know well what I am fleeing from but not what I am in search of"
Small: Fame and tranquility can never be bedfellows
"Fame and tranquility can never be bedfellows"
Small: Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it
"Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it"
Small: Not being able to govern events, I govern myself
"Not being able to govern events, I govern myself"
Small: My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened
"My life has been full of terrible misfortunes most of which never happened"
Small: Ignorance is the softest pillow on which a man can rest his head
"Ignorance is the softest pillow on which a man can rest his head"
Small: A wise man sees as much as he ought, not as much as he can
"A wise man sees as much as he ought, not as much as he can"
Small: A straight oar looks bent in the water. What matters is not merely that we see things but how we see th
"A straight oar looks bent in the water. What matters is not merely that we see things but how we see them"
Small: It is a monstrous thing that I will say, but I will say it all the same: I find in many things more res
"It is a monstrous thing that I will say, but I will say it all the same: I find in many things more restraint and order in my morals than in my opinions, and my lust less depraved than my reason"
Small: How many condemnations I have witnessed more criminal than the crime!
"How many condemnations I have witnessed more criminal than the crime!"
Small: It is an absolute and virtually divine perfection to know how to enjoy our being rightfully
"It is an absolute and virtually divine perfection to know how to enjoy our being rightfully"
Small: No wind serves him who addresses his voyage to no certain port
"No wind serves him who addresses his voyage to no certain port"
Small: If ordinary people complain that I speak too much of myself, I complain that they do not even think of
"If ordinary people complain that I speak too much of myself, I complain that they do not even think of themselves"
Small: The entire lower world was created in the likeness of the higher world. All that exists in the higher w
"The entire lower world was created in the likeness of the higher world. All that exists in the higher world appears like an image in this lower world; yet all this is but One"
Small: I quote others only in order the better to express myself
"I quote others only in order the better to express myself"
Small: Wit is a dangerous weapon, even to the possessor, if he knows not how to use it discreetly
"Wit is a dangerous weapon, even to the possessor, if he knows not how to use it discreetly"
Small: When I play with my cat, who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her
"When I play with my cat, who knows whether she is not amusing herself with me more than I with her"
Small: We only labor to stuff the memory, and leave the conscience and the understanding unfurnished and void
"We only labor to stuff the memory, and leave the conscience and the understanding unfurnished and void"
Small: We can be knowledgable with other mens knowledge but we cannot be wise with other mens wisdom
"We can be knowledgable with other men's knowledge but we cannot be wise with other men's wisdom"
Small: We are Christians by the same title as we are natives of Perigord or Germany
"We are Christians by the same title as we are natives of Perigord or Germany"
Small: Virtue rejects facility to be her companion. She requires a craggy, rough and thorny way
"Virtue rejects facility to be her companion. She requires a craggy, rough and thorny way"
Small: Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul
"Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul"
Small: There is a sort of gratification in doing good which makes us rejoice in ourselves
"There is a sort of gratification in doing good which makes us rejoice in ourselves"
Small: There are some defeats more triumphant than victories
"There are some defeats more triumphant than victories"
Small: The worst of my actions or conditions seem not so ugly unto me as I find it both ugly and base not to d
"The worst of my actions or conditions seem not so ugly unto me as I find it both ugly and base not to dare to avouch for them"
Small: The world is but a perpetual see-saw
"The world is but a perpetual see-saw"
Small: The world is all a carcass and vanity, The shadow of a shadow, a play And in one word, just nothing
"The world is all a carcass and vanity, The shadow of a shadow, a play And in one word, just nothing"
Small: The way of the world is to make laws, but follow custom
"The way of the world is to make laws, but follow custom"
Small: The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them... Whether you find sa
"The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them... Whether you find satisfaction in life depends not on your tale of years, but on your will"
Small: The thing I fear most is fear
"The thing I fear most is fear"
Small: The strangest, most generous, and proudest of all virtues is true courage
"The strangest, most generous, and proudest of all virtues is true courage"
Small: The soul which has no fixed purpose in life is lost to be everywhere, is to be nowhere
"The soul which has no fixed purpose in life is lost; to be everywhere, is to be nowhere"
Small: One may be humble out of pride
"One may be humble out of pride"
Small: Once conform, once do what others do because they do it, and a kind of lethargy steals over all the fin
"Once conform, once do what others do because they do it, and a kind of lethargy steals over all the finer senses of the soul"
Small: Of all our infirmities, the most savage is to despise our being
"Of all our infirmities, the most savage is to despise our being"
Small: Nothing is so firmly believed as what we least know
"Nothing is so firmly believed as what we least know"
Small: No pleasure has any savor for me without communication
"No pleasure has any savor for me without communication"
Small: My trade and art is to live
"My trade and art is to live"
Small: It is a sign of contraction of the mind when it is content, or of weariness. A spirited mind never stop
"It is a sign of contraction of the mind when it is content, or of weariness. A spirited mind never stops within itself; it is always aspiring and going beyond its strength"
Small: It is good to rub and polish our brain against that of others
"It is good to rub and polish our brain against that of others"
Small: There is not much less vexation in the government of a private family than in the managing of an entire
"There is not much less vexation in the government of a private family than in the managing of an entire state"
Small: Poverty of goods is easily cured poverty of soul, impossible
"Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of soul, impossible"
Small: I write to keep from going mad from the contradictions I find among mankind - and to work some of those
"I write to keep from going mad from the contradictions I find among mankind - and to work some of those contradictions out for myself"
Small: The finest souls are those that have the most variety and suppleness
"The finest souls are those that have the most variety and suppleness"
Small: The ceaseless labour of your life is to build the house of death
"The ceaseless labour of your life is to build the house of death"
Small: If a man urge me to tell wherefore I loved him, I feel it cannot be expressed but by answering: Because
"If a man urge me to tell wherefore I loved him, I feel it cannot be expressed but by answering: Because it was he, because it was myself"
Small: If a man should importune me to give a reason why I loved him, I find it could no otherwise be expresse
"If a man should importune me to give a reason why I loved him, I find it could no otherwise be expressed, than by making answer: because it was he, because it was I"
Small: There is no desire more natural than the desire for knowledge
"There is no desire more natural than the desire for knowledge"
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