Michel de Montaigne Quotes on Nature
Michel de Montaigne's treatment of nature, reflected in the quotes gathered here, runs in several directions at once. He made his own nature the subject of his book, wishing to be seen in his simple, natural, ordinary fashion, without straining or artifice. Montaigne observed the constancy of the natural order, that one and the same Nature rolls on her course, yet he was sharply aware of how easily custom is mistaken for nature, noting that the laws of conscience which we pretend to derive from nature in fact proceed from custom. He also extended moral consideration widely, recognising a general duty of humanity that binds us not only to animals but even to trees and plants. Drawn from the Essais, these passages show nature used as a measure of honesty, a check on convention, and a ground of fellow-feeling.
Quotes
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“I want to be seen here in my simple, natural, ordinary fashion, without straining or artifice; for it is myself that I portray...I am myself the matter of my book.”
Je veux qu'on me voit en ma façon simple, naturelle, et ordinaire, sans étude et artifice; car c'est moi que je peins...Je suis moi-même la matière de mon livre. -
“'T is one and the same Nature that rolls on her course, and whoever has sufficiently considered the present state of things might certainly conclude as to both the future and the past.”
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919) | Book II, Ch. 12. Apology for Raimond Sebond -
“The laws of conscience, which we pretend to be derived from nature, proceed from custom.”
Book I | Ch. 22. Of Custom (tr. Cotton, rev. W. Hazlitt, 1842) -
“There is, nevertheless, a certain respect and a general duty of humanity that ties us, not only to beasts that have life and sense, but even to trees and plants.”
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919) | Book II, Ch. 11. Of Cruelty -
“Virtue refuses facility for her companion ... the easy, gentle, and sloping path that guides the footsteps of a good natural disposition is not the path of true virtue. It demands a rough and thorny road.”
Book II | Ch. 11. Of Cruelty (tr. Donald M. Frame) -
“As to fidelity, there is no animal in the world so treacherous as man. Our histories have recorded the violent pursuits that dogs have made after the murderers of their masters.”
Book II | Ch. 12 (tr. Cotton, rev. W. Carew Hazlitt, 1877) -
“We are no nearer heaven on the top of Mount Cenis than at the bottom of the sea; take the distance with your astrolabe. They debase God even to the carnal knowledge of women, to so many times, and so many generations.”
Book II | Ch. 12 -
“Physicians have this advantage: the sun lights their success and the earth covers their failures.”
Book II | Ch. 37