Quote preview background for Michel de Montaigne
Demetrius the grammarian finding in the temple of Delphos a knot of philosophers set chatting together, said to them, __ither I am much deceived,or by your cheerful and pleasant countenances, you are engaged in no very deep discourse._ To which one of them, Heracleon the Megarean, replied: _ __is for such as are puzzled about inquiring whether the future tense of the verb Ballo be spelt with adouble L, or that hunt after the derivation of the comparatives Cheirou and Beltiou, and the superlatives Cheiriotou and Beliotou, to knit their brows whilst discoursing of their science; but as to philosophical discourses, they always divert and cheer up those that entertain them, and never deject them or make them sad.
Michel de Montaigne The Complete Essays
Turn into a Quote Card

Quote Detail

Demetrius the grammarian finding in the temple of Delphos a knot of philosophers set chatting together, said to them, __ither I am much deceived,or by your cheerful and pleasant countenances, you are engaged in no very deep discourse._ To which one of them, Heracleon the Megarean, replied: _ __is for such as are puzzled about inquiring whether the future tense of the verb Ballo be spelt with adouble L, or that hunt after the derivation of the comparatives Cheirou and Beltiou, and the superlatives Cheiriotou and Beliotou, to knit their brows whilst discoursing of their science; but as to philosophical discourses, they always divert and cheer up those that entertain them, and never deject them or make them sad.

Quick Answer

What this quote page tells you

This canonical quote page keeps the full saying, the attributed author, any linked work, and the topic tags together so the quote can be cited from one stable URL.

Related Quotes

More quote cards from the same area

"

Had Moreau had any intelligible object, I could have sympathized at least a little with him. I am not so squeamish about pain as that. I could have forgiven him a little even, had his motive been only hate. But he was so irresponsible, so utterly careless! His curiosity, his mad, aimless investigations, drove him on; and the Things were thrown out to live a year or so, to struggle and blunder and suffer, and at last to die painfully.