Michel de Montaigne Quotes
Intelligence is required to be able to know that a man knows not.
Montaigne, Michel de. The Complete Essays of Montaigne. Translated by Donald M. Frame, Stanford University Press, 1958, p. 817.
This seemingly abstruse philosophical statement actually found its way into one of the major political debates of the 21st Century when the Secretary of Defense was defending the management of the Iraq War and the interpretation of intelligence. See {586062}.
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, also known as Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance, known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. His work is noted for its merging of casual anecdotes and autobiography with intellectual insight. His massive volume Essais contains some of the most influential essays ever written.
