Michel de Montaigne

I enjoy books as misers enjoy treasures, because I know I can enjoy them whenever I please.

Michel de Montaigne

I had rather fashion my mind than furnish it.

Michel de Montaigne

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

Michel de Montaigne

I know well what I am fleeing from but not what I am in search of.

Michel de Montaigne

I must accommodate my history to the hour: I may presently change, not only by fortune, but also by intention.

Michel de Montaigne

I must use these great men’s virtues as a cloak for my weakness.

Michel de Montaigne

I prefer the company of peasants because they have not been educated sufficiently to reason incorrectly.

Michel de Montaigne

I see men ordinarily more eager to discover a reason for things than to find out whether the things are so.

Michel de Montaigne

I seek in the reading of books, only to please myself, by an honest diversion.

Michel de Montaigne

I seek only the learning that treats of the knowledge of myself and instructs me how to die well and live well.

Michel de Montaigne