---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An ancient father says that a dog we know…"
description: "\"An ancient father says that a dog we know is better company than a man whose language we do not understand.\" — Michel de Montaigne"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_an-ancient-father-says-that-a-dog-we-kno_1870785.jpg"
---

#  An ancient father says that a dog we know is better…

![“An ancient father says that a dog we know is better company than a man whose language we do not understand.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_an-ancient-father-says-that-a-dog-we-kno_1870785.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_an-ancient-father-says-that-a-dog-we-kno_1870785.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_an-ancient-father-says-that-a-dog-we-kno_1870785.jpg)

> “An ancient father says that a dog we know is better company than a man whose language we do not understand.”

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A familiar dog offers reliable companionship, unlike a stranger whose language is unintelligible.

**In simple terms:** Dogs are better companions than unknown people.

Key Takeaway

Seek clear communication and trusted companions.

Themes

communication trust language companionship social interaction

Mood

thoughtful reflective

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- friendship
- travel
- multicultural work
- team building

Key Concepts

philosophy human relations

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you build trust with those who speak differently?
- What values do you prioritize in companions?

A Different Perspective

Language barriers can be bridged with effort; not always impossible.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ancient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/) [Ancient Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-father-2579594/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dog/) [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Father Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-says/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Man Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-language-997067/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Says Dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/says-dog-2427487/)

## Related quotes

> [“Can you read this word, Peter?' ...'It says GOD.' 'Yes, that's right. Now write it backward and see what you find.' ...'DOG! Mamma! It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/can-you-read-this-word-peter-it-says-god-yes-that-s-right-now-write/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [The dyslexic atheist says There is no dog!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-straub/the-dyslexic-atheist-says-there-is-no-dog/)

[Alec Straub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-straub/)

> [who says dog means dog?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-clements/who-says-dog-means-dog/)

[Andrew Clements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-clements/)

> [“There is a hope that a dog injects into everywalk, more than a hope- an expectation, really- that this si going to be something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-zeaman/there-is-a-hope-that-a-dog-injects-into-everywalk-more-than-a-hope-an/)

[John Zeaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-zeaman/)

> [This past Thanksgiving, my father was at the farm, and I had all 11 dogs in the house with a father who never allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/this-past-thanksgiving-my-father-was-at-the-farm-and-i-had-all-11/)

[Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/)

> [Perhaps of all the creations of man language is the most astonishing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lytton-strachey/perhaps-of-all-the-creations-of-man-language-is-the-most-astonishing/)

[Lytton Strachey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lytton-strachey/)

> [Man is the namer; by this we recognize that through him pure language speaks. All nature, insofar as it communicates itself, communicates itself in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/man-is-the-namer-by-this-we-recognize-that-through-him-pure-language/)

[Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/)

> [“A boy trying out a man's language.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eowyn-ivey/a-boy-trying-out-a-man-s-language/)

[Eowyn Ivey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eowyn-ivey/)

> [If you talk to a man in a language he understands, it goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-guzaldo/if-you-talk-to-a-man-in-a-language-he-understands-it-goes-to-his-head/)

[Andrew Guzaldo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-guzaldo/)

> [“Now no one is going to make you talk--possibly no one can. But bear in mind, language is man's way of communicating with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/now-no-one-is-going-to-make-you-talk-possibly-no-one-can-but-bear-in/)

[Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/)

> [If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/if-you-talk-to-a-man-in-a-language-he-understands-that-goes-to-his/)

[Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/)

> [For a woman, language spoken is an expression of what she is feeling. For a man, language spoken is an expression of what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myles-munroe/for-a-woman-language-spoken-is-an-expression-of-what-she-is-feeling/)

[Myles Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myles-munroe/)

> [The Bible is God's Word given in man's language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/the-bible-is-god-s-word-given-in-man-s-language/)

[Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/)

> [“Nelson Mandela said it this way, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-marco/nelson-mandela-said-it-this-way-if-you-talk-to-a-man-in-a-language-he/)

[Christopher Marco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-marco/)

> [A man who has a language consequently possesses the world expressed and implied by that language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/a-man-who-has-a-language-consequently-possesses-the-world-expressed/)

[Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/)

## More by Michel de Montaigne

> [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/)

[Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

[Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

## More Ancient quotes

> [“We ought to know the history of our ancient ancestors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-ought-to-know-the-history-of-our-ancient-ancestors/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [In ancient times, those who wished to illuminate the world with virtue first brought order to their nations. Wishing to order well their nations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/in-ancient-times-those-who-wished-to-illuminate-the-world-with-virtue/)

[Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/)

> [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/)

[Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/)

> [“Whenever I think about ancient cultures nostalgia seizes me. Perhaps this is nothing but envy of the sweet slowness of the history of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/whenever-i-think-about-ancient-cultures-nostalgia-seizes-me-perhaps/)

[Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/)

> [I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-dunthorne/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-come-of-age-but-i-m-certainly-older-now-i-feel/)

[Joe Dunthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-dunthorne/)

> [Tentatively I stood a great lump of wood on the chopping block and bought the axe down on it. It flew into two perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-garner/tentatively-i-stood-a-great-lump-of-wood-on-the-chopping-block-and/)

[Helen Garner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-garner/)

> [Men must speak English who can write Sanskrit; they must speak a modern language who write, perchance, an ancient and universal one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-must-speak-english-who-can-write-sanskrit-they-must-speak-a/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [The Tao is the center of the universe, the good man's treasure, the bad man's refuge. Honors can be bought with fine words, respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/the-tao-is-the-center-of-the-universe-the-good-man-s-treasure-the-bad/)

[Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/)

> [So too, monks, I saw the ancient path, the ancient road traveled by the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past. And what is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/so-too-monks-i-saw-the-ancient-path-the-ancient-road-traveled-by-the/)

[Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/)

> [Ancient societies had anthropomorphic gods: a huge pantheon expanding into centuries of dynastic drama; fathers and sons, martyred heroes, star-crossed lovers, the deaths of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/ancient-societies-had-anthropomorphic-gods-a-huge-pantheon-expanding/)

[Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/)

> [My life shall be free and broad and great, and I will not be the slave to the sense delights which chained my ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/my-life-shall-be-free-and-broad-and-great-and-i-will-not-be-the-slave/)

[Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/)

> [Those of us with this ancient compulsion to tell stories sometimes start with a single kernel of something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-p-jones/those-of-us-with-this-ancient-compulsion-to-tell-stories-sometimes/)

[Edward P. Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-p-jones/)

> [All the stories I have told you are finally as useless as all ancient knowledge is to man and to us. Its images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/all-the-stories-i-have-told-you-are-finally-as-useless-as-all-ancient/)

[Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/)

> [So what if I'm ninety-three? So what if I'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? If they're willing to accept me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gruen/so-what-if-i-m-ninety-three-so-what-if-i-m-ancient-and-cranky-and-my/)

[Sara Gruen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gruen/)

> [Science has revealed a universe that is vast, ancient, violent, strange, and beautiful, a universe of almost infinite variety and possibility one in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/science-has-revealed-a-universe-that-is-vast-ancient-violent-strange/)

[Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/)

[Browse all 2,415 Ancient quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "An ancient father says that a dog we know is better company than a man whose language we do not understand.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michel de Montaigne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/an-ancient-father-says-that-a-dog-we-know-is-better-company-than-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ancient"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/an-ancient-father-says-that-a-dog-we-know-is-better-company-than-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_an-ancient-father-says-that-a-dog-we-kno_1870785.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_an-ancient-father-says-that-a-dog-we-kno_1870785.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/michel-de-montaigne-142_ancient_an-ancient-father-says-that-a-dog-we-kno_1870785.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“An ancient father says that a dog we know is better company than a man whose language we do not understand.” — Michel de Montaigne",
                "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": "Michel de Montaigne",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "An ancient father says that a...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/an-ancient-father-says-that-a-dog-we-know-is-better-company-than-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/an-ancient-father-says-that-a-dog-we-know-is-better-company-than-a/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
