QuoteProject
I quote others only in order the better to express myself.
Michel De Montaigne
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Using the words of others can enhance one's own expression.

This quote by Michel De Montaigne suggests that quoting others is not simply a matter of borrowing their words, but a strategic way of enriching one's own voice and thoughts. By incorporating the perspectives of others, one can convey ideas more effectively and resonate with their audience on a deeper level.

Themes

ExpressionQuotesCommunicationUnderstandingSelf-Expression

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about creativity, one might quote Montaigne to highlight the importance of using others' ideas to clarify one's own.

More from Michel De Montaigne

All the world knows me in my book, and my book in me.
Michel De MontaigneRead
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 MontaigneRead
Pythagoras used to say that life resembles the Olympic Games: a few people strain their muscles to carry off a prize; others bring trinkets to sell to the crowd for gain; and some there are, and not the worst, who seek no other profit than to look at the show and see how and why everything is done; spectators of the life of other people in order to judge and regulate their own.
Michel De MontaigneRead
There is not much less vexation in the government of a private family than in the managing of an entire state.
Michel De MontaigneRead
Those who have compared our life to a dream were right... we were sleeping wake, and waking sleep.
Michel De MontaigneRead
Such as are in immediate fear of a losing their estates, of banishment, or of slavery, live in perpetual anguish, and lose all appetite and repose; whereas such as are actually poor, slaves, or exiles, ofttimes live as merrily as other folk.
Michel De MontaigneRead

Similar quotes

The Church must breathe with her two lungs!
Pope John Paul IiRead
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.
John F. KennedyRead
Humanitarian response, sustainable development, and sustaining peace are three sides of the same triangle.
Antonio GuterresRead
His morality is all sympathy, just what morality should be
Oscar WildeRead
In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't.
Blaise PascalRead
In practical life we are compelled to follow what is most probable ; in speculative thought we are compelled to follow truth.
Baruch SpinozaRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.