Michel de Montaigne

"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."

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Source: Michel de Montaigne (1958). “Complete Essays”, p.152, Stanford University Press

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Michel de Montaigne

Michel de Montaigne

Philosopher, Writer

Michel de Montaigne was a French philosopher known for his influential work 'Essays', which explores self-reflection and the human condition.

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"We must learn to endure what we cannot avoid. Our life is composed, like the harmony of the world, of contrary things, also of different tones, sweet and harsh, sharp and flat, soft and loud. If a musician liked only one kind, what would he have to say?"

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