Michel de Montaigne - Speak Quotes

15 Sourced Quotes

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When all is summed up, a man never speaks of himself without loss; his accusations of himself are always believed; his praises never.

Michel de Montaigne
Socrates and then Archesilaus used to make their pupils speak first; they spoke afterwards. 'Obest plerumque iss discere volunt authoritas eorum qui docent.' [For those who want to learn, the obstacle can often be the authority of those who teach]

Michel de Montaigne
I do not speak the minds of others except to speak my own mind better.

Michel de Montaigne
Let no man be ashamed to speak what he is not ashamed to think.

Michel de Montaigne
If I speak of myself in different ways, that is because I look at myself in different ways.

Michel de Montaigne
Every man may speak truly, but to speak methodically, prudently, and fully is a talent that few men have.

Michel de Montaigne
I speak the truth, not my fill of it, but as much as I dare speak; and I dare to do so a little more as I grow old.

Michel de Montaigne
I speak truth, not so much as I would, but as much as I dare; and I dare a little the more as I grow older.

Michel de Montaigne
Speech belongs half to him who speaks and half to him who hears.

Michel de Montaigne
All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I should not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed.

Michel de Montaigne
Truth and reason are common to everyone, and are no more his who spake them first than his who speaks them after.

Michel de Montaigne
Great authors, when they write about causes, adduce not only those they think are true but also those they do not believe in, provided they have some originality and beauty. They speak truly and usefully enough if they speak ingeniously.

Michel de Montaigne
While our pulse beats and we feel emotion, let us put off the business. Things will truly seem different to us when we have quieted and cooled down. It is passion that is in command at first, it is passion that speaks, it is not we ourselves.

Michel de Montaigne
We are more solicitous that men speak of us, than how they speak.

Michel de Montaigne
My trade and my art is living. He who forbids me to speak about it according to my sense, experience, and practice, let him orderthe architect to speak of buildings not according to himself but according to his neighbor; according to another man's knowledge, not according to his own.

Michel de Montaigne