Had I been placed among those nations which are said to liv… - Michel de Montaigne

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Had I been placed among those nations which are said to live still in the sweet freedom of nature's first laws, I assure you I should very gladly have portrayed myself here entire and wholly naked.

Thus, reader, I am myself the matter of my book; you would be unreasonable to spend your leisure on so frivolous and vain a subject.

Michel de Montaigne

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humility essays montaigne

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About Michel de Montaigne

Michel de Montaigne (Michel Eyquem, lord of the manor of Montaigne, Dordogne) (28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592) was an influential French Renaissance writer, generally considered to be the inventor of the personal essay.

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Alternative Names: Michel Eyquem de Montaigne • Miquèu Eiquèm de Montanha • Miqueu Eiquem de Montanha

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And therefore, Reader, I myself am the subject of my book: it is not reasonable that you should employ your leisure on a topic so frivolous and so vain.

Therefore, Farewell:

Originators like Michel de Montaigne:

Voltaire Friedrich Nietzsche Johann Wolfgang von Goethe William Hazlitt Ralph Waldo Emerson

Additional quotes by Michel de Montaigne

I have never seen a greater monster or miracle in the world than myself.

Nothing prints more lively in our minds than something we wish to forget.

The strangest, most generous, and proudest of all virtues is true courage.

Had I been placed among those nations which are said to live still in the sweet freedom of nature's first laws, I assure you I should very gladly hav… - Michel de Montaigne

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