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The mariner of old said to Neptune in a great tempest, "O God! thou mayest save me if thou wilt, and if thou wilt thou mayest destroy me; but whether or no, I will steer my rudder true."

— Michel de Montaigne Essais (1571)

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More quotes by Michel de Montaigne

They make me hate things that are likely, when they would impose them upon me as infallible.

Essais (1571)

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

Essais (1571)

What of a truth that is bounded by these mountains and is falsehood to the world that lives beyond?

Essais (1571)

God's justice and His power are inseparable; 'tis in vain we invoke His power in an unjust cause.

Essais (1571)

Man is certainly stark mad; he cannot make a worm, and yet he will be making gods by dozens.

Essais (1571)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Michel de Montaigne (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.