Michel de Montaigne

"Traveling through the world produces a marvelous clarity in the judgment of men. We are all of us confined and enclosed within ourselves, and see no farther than the end of our nose. This great world is a mirror where we must see ourselves in order to know ourselves. There are so many different tempers, so many different points of view, judgments, opinions, laws and customs to teach us to judge wisely on our own, and to teach our judgment to recognize its imperfection and natural weakness."

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Source: The Necessity for Ruins, and Other Topics. Book by John Brinckerhoff Jackson, p. 4, 1980.

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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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Michel de Montaigne Philosopher, Writer

"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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