--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fie on the eloquence that leaves us…" description: "\"Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!\" — Michel de Montaigne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/michel-de-montaigne-142_asceticism_fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-crav_34209.jpg" --- # Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not… ![“Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/michel-de-montaigne-142_asceticism_fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-crav_34209.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/michel-de-montaigne-142_asceticism_fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-crav_34209.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/michel-de-montaigne-142_asceticism_fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-crav_34209.jpg) > “Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!” [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. The quote criticizes language that is self‑indulgent, valuing style over substance, and warns that such rhetoric leaves us yearning for more words rather than meaningful content. **In simple terms:** Self‑referential eloquence starves substance. Key Takeaway Beware of style that feeds on itself. Themes self‑reference rhetoric substance over style intellectual vanity Mood critical reflective Type aphorism critique When to use this quote - academic writing - political speeches - marketing copy - literary criticism Key Concepts language meaning communication Practical Applications - editing for clarity - teaching critical reading Questions to Reflect On - How does this affect your own writing? - Can you spot examples in media? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Asceticism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asceticism/) [Eloquence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eloquence/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [Buddhism teaches that a craving for things outside ourselves causes an unhappy and pointless search for security. It teaches me to stop following every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiger-woods/buddhism-teaches-that-a-craving-for-things-outside-ourselves-causes/) [Tiger Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiger-woods/) > [The craving for things we think are outside ourselves binds us to suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/the-craving-for-things-we-think-are-outside-ourselves-binds-us-to/) Senoraroy > [One of the problems we have is that we cannot just be content to admire and enjoy, we have to possess and feel we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-girzone/one-of-the-problems-we-have-is-that-we-cannot-just-be-content-to/) [Joseph Girzone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-girzone/) > [Eloquence is an engine invented to manage and wield at will the fierce democracy, and, like medicine to the sick, is only employed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/eloquence-is-an-engine-invented-to-manage-and-wield-at-will-the/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Shame on all eloquence which leaves us with a taste for itself and not for its substance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/shame-on-all-eloquence-which-leaves-us-with-a-taste-for-itself-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Everybody who does not live in a prostitute's bed and on a diet of cocaine snow is called an ascetic nowadays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/everybody-who-does-not-live-in-a-prostitute-s-bed-and-on-a-diet-of/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [When you reach your sixties, you have to decide whether you're going to be a sot or an ascetic. In other words if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/when-you-reach-your-sixties-you-have-to-decide-whether-you-re-going/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Dieting is our last tie with asceticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/dieting-is-our-last-tie-with-asceticism/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [The main motive for nonattachment is a desire to escape from the pain of living, and above all from love, which, sexual or non-sexual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-main-motive-for-nonattachment-is-a-desire-to-escape-from-the-pain/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“A Christian who practices asceticism trains himself to say no to his desires and yes to God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/a-christian-who-practices-asceticism-trains-himself-to-say-no-to-his/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [Catholicism is not ritualism; it may in the future be fighting some sort of superstitious and idolatrous exaggeration of ritual. Catholicism is not asceticism;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/catholicism-is-not-ritualism-it-may-in-the-future-be-fighting-some/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“In his treatise on the battles between the gods underlying ancient Dionysian theatre, the young Nietzsche notes: 'Alas! The magic of these struggles is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/in-his-treatise-on-the-battles-between-the-gods-underlying-ancient/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > [The principle of asceticism never was, nor ever can be, consistently pursued by any living creature. Let but one tenth part of the inhabitants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-principle-of-asceticism-never-was-nor-ever-can-be-consistently/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [The beauty of a cuckoo is in its notes, that of a woman in her unalloyed devotion to her husband, that of an ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/the-beauty-of-a-cuckoo-is-in-its-notes-that-of-a-woman-in-her/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) ## 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/) > [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/) > [“There is nothing more unsociable than man, and nothing more sociable: unsociable by his vice, sociable by his nature.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-is-nothing-more-unsociable-than-man-and-nothing-more-sociable/) [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 Asceticism quotes > [The religion of art, like the religion of politics, was born from the ruins of Christianity. Art inherited from the old religion the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/the-religion-of-art-like-the-religion-of-politics-was-born-from-the/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [The beauty of a cuckoo is in its notes, that of a woman in her unalloyed devotion to her husband, that of an ugly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/the-beauty-of-a-cuckoo-is-in-its-notes-that-of-a-woman-in-her/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [The principle of asceticism never was, nor ever can be, consistently pursued by any living creature. Let but one tenth part of the inhabitants…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-bentham/the-principle-of-asceticism-never-was-nor-ever-can-be-consistently/) [Jeremy Bentham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-bentham/) > [“In his treatise on the battles between the gods underlying ancient Dionysian theatre, the young Nietzsche notes: 'Alas! The magic of these struggles is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-sloterdijk/in-his-treatise-on-the-battles-between-the-gods-underlying-ancient/) [Peter Sloterdijk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-sloterdijk/) > [Catholicism is not ritualism; it may in the future be fighting some sort of superstitious and idolatrous exaggeration of ritual. Catholicism is not asceticism;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/catholicism-is-not-ritualism-it-may-in-the-future-be-fighting-some/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“A Christian who practices asceticism trains himself to say no to his desires and yes to God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/a-christian-who-practices-asceticism-trains-himself-to-say-no-to-his/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [The main motive for nonattachment is a desire to escape from the pain of living, and above all from love, which, sexual or non-sexual,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-main-motive-for-nonattachment-is-a-desire-to-escape-from-the-pain/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Dieting is our last tie with asceticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/dieting-is-our-last-tie-with-asceticism/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [When you reach your sixties, you have to decide whether you're going to be a sot or an ascetic. In other words if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/when-you-reach-your-sixties-you-have-to-decide-whether-you-re-going/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Everybody who does not live in a prostitute's bed and on a diet of cocaine snow is called an ascetic nowadays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/everybody-who-does-not-live-in-a-prostitute-s-bed-and-on-a-diet-of/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Genuine asceticism for finding one's own soul and for the good of humanity is worthy of reverence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rama-swami/genuine-asceticism-for-finding-one-s-own-soul-and-for-the-good-of/) [Rama Swami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rama-swami/) > [Many modern scholars have found the asceticism expressed in Plato unacceptable; it does not sound like the advice of a reasonable man in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mcevilley/many-modern-scholars-have-found-the-asceticism-expressed-in-plato/) [Thomas McEvilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mcevilley/) > [The dunyâ distracts and preoccupies the heart and body, but al-zuhd (asceticism, not giving importance to worldly things) gives rest to the heart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-of-basra/the-duny-distracts-and-preoccupies-the-heart-and-body-but-al-zuhd/) [Hasan of Basra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-of-basra/) > [Asceticism is the right way of thinking for those who have to extirpate their sensual drives because they are ravening beasts of prey. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/asceticism-is-the-right-way-of-thinking-for-those-who-have-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [There are three kinds of nature in man, as Nicetas Stethatos further explains: the carnal man, who wants to live for his own pleasure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tito-colliander/there-are-three-kinds-of-nature-in-man-as-nicetas-stethatos-further/) [Tito Colliander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tito-colliander/) [Browse all 113 Asceticism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asceticism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Asceticism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/michel-de-montaigne-142_asceticism_fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-crav_34209.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/michel-de-montaigne-142_asceticism_fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-crav_34209.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/460/michel-de-montaigne-142_asceticism_fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-crav_34209.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!” — 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": "Fie on the eloquence that leaves...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/#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 } } ] } ```