Michel de Montaigne

“Stubborn and ardent clinging to one's opinion is the best proof of stupidity.”

“He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears.”

“The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them.”

“Nothing is so firmly believed as what we least know.”

“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.”

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

“On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom.”

“Que sçay-je? (What do I know?)”

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

“The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness.”

“I want to be seen here in my simple, natural, ordinary fashion, without straining or artifice; for it is myself that I portray.”

“Lend yourself to others, but give yourself to yourself.”

“Kings and philosophers shit, and so do ladies.”

“If you don't know how to die, don't worry; Nature will tell you what to do on the spot, fully and adequately.”

“Not being able to govern events, I govern myself.”

“There are some defeats more triumphant than victories.”

“We can be knowledgeable with other men's knowledge, but we cannot be wise with other men's wisdom.”

“It is good to rub and polish our brain against that of others.”

“How many things we held yesterday as articles of faith which today we tell as fables.”

“The soul which has no fixed purpose in life is lost; to be everywhere, is to be nowhere.”