--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: According to Montaigne, it was the…" description: "\"According to Montaigne, it was the oppressive notion that we had complete mental control over our bodies, and the horror of departing from this portrai..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c9/alain-de-botton-221_body_according-to-montaigne-it-was-the-oppres_3174434.jpg" --- # According to Montaigne, it was the oppressive notion that… ![“According to Montaigne, it was the oppressive notion that we had complete mental control over our bodies, and the horror of departing from this portrait of normality, that had left the man unable to perform sexually.” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c9/alain-de-botton-221_body_according-to-montaigne-it-was-the-oppres_3174434.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c9/alain-de-botton-221_body_according-to-montaigne-it-was-the-oppres_3174434.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c9/alain-de-botton-221_body_according-to-montaigne-it-was-the-oppres_3174434.jpg) > “According to Montaigne, it was the oppressive notion that we had complete mental control over our bodies, and the horror of departing from this portrait of normality, that had left the man unable to perform sexually.” [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The belief in total mental control over the body creates anxiety, and fearing deviation from normality impairs sexual performance. **In simple terms:** Fear of losing control harms sexual ability. Key Takeaway Accept bodily limits to improve intimacy. Themes anxiety sexuality control self‑acceptance Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - intimate relationships - therapy sessions - personal health - stress management Key Concepts psychology philosophy body‑mind dualism Questions to Reflect On - How does your perception of control affect intimacy? - What practices help you accept bodily imperfections? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on control can ignore other factors affecting sexuality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Horror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horror/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Normality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/normality/) [Oppressive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppressive/) ## Related quotes > [Overloading attention shrinks mental control. Life immersed in digital distractions creates a near constant cognitive overload. And that overload wears out self-control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/overloading-attention-shrinks-mental-control-life-immersed-in-digital/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Managing life from our mental control towers, we have separated ourselves from our bodies and hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/managing-life-from-our-mental-control-towers-we-have-separated/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [Any pleasure gained by means other than mental control weakens the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/any-pleasure-gained-by-means-other-than-mental-control-weakens-the/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [You can't make good decisions that are going to be meaningful, productive, when you lose control, and you have to maintain mental control, emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wooden/you-can-t-make-good-decisions-that-are-going-to-be-meaningful/) [John Wooden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wooden/) > [Imagination tends to be truly useful if accompanied by the power of mental control - if the worlds in one's head can be purposefully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/imagination-tends-to-be-truly-useful-if-accompanied-by-the-power-of/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [“The reason we are so controlled is not that we don't have the power to decide our own destiny, it is that we give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-icke/the-reason-we-are-so-controlled-is-not-that-we-don-t-have-the-power/) [David Icke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-icke/) > [“Only one who has practiced intensively in preparation for the transition that occurs at death and gained sufficient mental control is capable of exerting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karma-lekshe-tsomo/only-one-who-has-practiced-intensively-in-preparation-for-the/) [Karma Lekshe Tsomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karma-lekshe-tsomo/) > [Most of the evils of life arise from man's being unable to sit still in a room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/most-of-the-evils-of-life-arise-from-man-s-being-unable-to-sit-still/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/no-matter-how-prosperous-a-man-was-if-he-was-unable-to-rule-his-women/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [Man is unable to see himself entirely unrelated to mankind, neither is he able to see mankind unrelated to life, nor life unrelated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/man-is-unable-to-see-himself-entirely-unrelated-to-mankind-neither-is/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Only a man unable to handle the actual world would create another one in which to hide.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/only-a-man-unable-to-handle-the-actual-world-would-create-another-one/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [“An ordinary man would have been unable to maintain his balance there, to say nothing of holding on with such narrow support. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendell-foster-crossen/an-ordinary-man-would-have-been-unable-to-maintain-his-balance-there/) Kendell Foster Crossen > [“For the real issue under all the fights about other women is the man is unable to commit himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/for-the-real-issue-under-all-the-fights-about-other-women-is-the-man/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [A young man who is unable to commit a folly is already an old man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-gauguin/a-young-man-who-is-unable-to-commit-a-folly-is-already-an-old-man/) [Paul Gauguin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-gauguin/) > [The petit-bourgeois is a man unable to imagine the Other. If he comes face to face with him, he blinds himself, ignores and denies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-petit-bourgeois-is-a-man-unable-to-imagine-the-other-if-he-comes/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) ## More by Alain de Botton > [“To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“The Anxiety of Sunday afternoon: your unlived lives and infinite possibility pressing upon the constraints of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-anxiety-of-sunday-afternoon-your-unlived-lives-and-infinite/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Those who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/those-who-divorce-aren-t-necessarily-the-most-unhappy-just-those/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Insofar as we appreciate order, it is when we perceive it as being accompanied by complexity, when we feel that a variety of elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/insofar-as-we-appreciate-order-it-is-when-we-perceive-it-as-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I like the values associated with a medical family - common sense, being practical but also thoughtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-like-the-values-associated-with-a-medical-family-common-sense-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Anyone who urgently needs us deserves, in the true book of love, to be our friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/anyone-who-urgently-needs-us-deserves-in-the-true-book-of-love-to-be/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We can then recognize that we invented religions to serve two central needs which continue to this day and which secular society has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-can-then-recognize-that-we-invented-religions-to-serve-two-central/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Half the ingratitude and complacency in the world down to how slowly and imperceptibly most good and bad things unfold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/half-the-ingratitude-and-complacency-in-the-world-down-to-how-slowly/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-is-perhaps-when-our-lives-are-at-their-most-problematic-that-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Does what is praised becomes better? Does an emerald become worse if it isn't praised? And what a gold, ivory, a flower or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/does-what-is-praised-becomes-better-does-an-emerald-become-worse-if/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/reputation-matters-so-much-only-because-people-so-seldom-think-for/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) [Explore all 850 Alain de Botton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "According to Montaigne, it was the oppressive notion that we had complete mental control over our bodies, and the horror of departing from this portrait of normality, that had left the man unable to perform sexually.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alain de Botton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/according-to-montaigne-it-was-the-oppressive-notion-that-we-had/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Body" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/according-to-montaigne-it-was-the-oppressive-notion-that-we-had/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c9/alain-de-botton-221_body_according-to-montaigne-it-was-the-oppres_3174434.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c9/alain-de-botton-221_body_according-to-montaigne-it-was-the-oppres_3174434.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c9/alain-de-botton-221_body_according-to-montaigne-it-was-the-oppres_3174434.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“According to Montaigne, it was the oppressive notion that we had complete mental control over our bodies…” — Alain de Botton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alain de Botton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "According to Montaigne, it was the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/according-to-montaigne-it-was-the-oppressive-notion-that-we-had/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/according-to-montaigne-it-was-the-oppressive-notion-that-we-had/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```