Michel de Montaigne 1533 – 1592
Michel de Montaigne was a French Renaissance philosopher and the inventor of the modern essay. Withdrawing in middle age to his tower library, he composed the three books of the Essais, an unprecedented program of self-examination conducted in dialogue with Greek and Roman authors. The motto Que sais-je?, what do I know, captures his temperate skepticism, while his frank attention to the body, to custom, and to the particularity of his own experience set the tone for modern introspective writing. Through Pascal, Shakespeare, and Emerson, his influence on Western thought has been immense.
Key facts
- Nationality
- French
- Era
- Modern
- Movements
- Renaissance, Skepticism
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Michel de Montaigne:
“What do I know?”
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Attributed to Michel de Montaigne:
“The thing I fear most is fear.”
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Attributed to Michel de Montaigne:
“He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears.”
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Attributed to Michel de Montaigne:
“Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.”
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Attributed to Michel de Montaigne:
“Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself.”