Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Volume 07 — John Shaqi
Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Volume 07Montaigne, Michel de
Philosophy
Essays of Michel de Montaigne — Volume 07
Montaigne, Michel de
French essays -- Translations into English
"Haec perinde sunt, ut ilius animus; qui ea possidet
Qui uti scit, ei bona; illi, qui non uritur recte, mala."
["Things are, as is the mind of their possessor; who knows how to
use them, to him they are good; to him who abuses them, ill."
--Terence, Heart., i. 3, 21.]
Whatever the benefits of fortune are, they yet require a palate to relish
them. 'Tis fruition, and not possession, that renders us happy:
["'Tis not lands, or a heap of brass and gold, that has removed
fevers from the ailing body of the owner, or cares from his mind.
The possessor must be healthy, if he thinks to make good use of his
realised wealth. To him who is covetous or timorous his house and
estate are as a picture to a blind man, or a fomentation to a
gouty."--Horace, Ep., i. 2, 47.]
He is a sot, his taste is palled and flat; he no more enjoys what he has
than one that has a cold relishes the flavour of canary, or than a horse
is sensible of his rich caparison. Plato is in the right when he tells
us that health, beauty, vigour, and riches, and all the other things
called goods, are equally evil to the unjust as good to the just, and the
evil on the contrary the same. And therefore where the body and the mind
are in disorder, to what use serve these external conveniences:
considering that the least prick with a pin, or the least passion of the
soul, is sufficient to deprive one of the pleasure of being sole monarch
of the world. At the first twitch of the gout it signifies much to be
called Sir and Your Majesty!
"Totus et argento conflatus, totus et auro;"
["Wholly made up of silver and gold."--Tibullus, i. 2, 70.]
does he not forget his palaces and girandeurs? If he be angry, can his
being a prince keep him from looking red and looking pale, and grinding
his teeth like a madman? Now, if he be a man of parts and of right
nature, royalty adds very little to his happiness;
"Si ventri bene, si lateri est, pedibusque tuffs, nil
Divitix poterunt regales addere majus;"
["If it is well with thy belly, thy side and thy feet, regal wealth
will be able to add nothing."--Horace, Ep., i. 12, 5.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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