---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I were a maker of books I should…"
description: "\"If I were a maker of books I should compile a register, with comments, of different deaths. He who should teach people to die, would teach them to live..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/michel-de-montaigne-142_book_if-i-were-a-maker-of-books-i-should-comp_3211397.jpg"
---

#  If I were a maker of books I should compile a register…

![“If I were a maker of books I should compile a register, with comments, of different deaths. He who should teach people to die, would teach them to live.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/michel-de-montaigne-142_book_if-i-were-a-maker-of-books-i-should-comp_3211397.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/michel-de-montaigne-142_book_if-i-were-a-maker-of-books-i-should-comp_3211397.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/michel-de-montaigne-142_book_if-i-were-a-maker-of-books-i-should-comp_3211397.jpg)

> “If I were a maker of books I should compile a register, with comments, of different deaths. He who should teach people to die, would teach them to live.”

[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.

He suggests that confronting death teaches us how to truly live, implying that mortality awareness enriches life.

**In simple terms:** Facing death helps us live fully.

Key Takeaway

Embrace mortality to value life.

Themes

philosophy life death wisdom

Mood

contemplative thoughtful

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- personal reflection
- counseling
- creative writing

Key Concepts

existentialism stoicism mindfulness

Questions to Reflect On

- What does it mean to “teach people to die”?
- How does mortality awareness change daily choices?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/)

## Related quotes

> [He who would teach men to die would teach them to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/he-who-would-teach-men-to-die-would-teach-them-to-live/)

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

> [“Anyone who teaches men how to die would teach them how to live.36”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/anyone-who-teaches-men-how-to-die-would-teach-them-how-to-live-36/)

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

> [How many different deaths I can die?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/how-many-different-deaths-i-can-die/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

> [Few of those who fill the world with books, have any pretensions to the hope either of pleasing or instructing. They have often no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/few-of-those-who-fill-the-world-with-books-have-any-pretensions-to/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [All religions are nothing but a science - or an art - to teach you how to die. And the only way to teach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-religions-are-nothing-but-a-science-or-an-art-to-teach-you-how-to/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [For one thing, I don't teach graphic design ; I teach people to find their own strengths. Second, I don't hold back anything for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morteza-momayez/for-one-thing-i-don-t-teach-graphic-design-i-teach-people-to-find/)

Morteza Momayez

> [I believe in having fun first, and along the way, if you teach people, if you influence people, well and good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-believe-in-having-fun-first-and-along-the-way-if-you-teach-people/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [It's really important to teach people how to get food, how to grow it, how to pick it, how to prepare it and what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-potts-dawson/it-s-really-important-to-teach-people-how-to-get-food-how-to-grow-it/)

[Arthur Potts Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-potts-dawson/)

> [It is impossible to teach people to conserve nature if they don't learn to love nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/it-is-impossible-to-teach-people-to-conserve-nature-if-they-don-t/)

[Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/)

> [“Teach the people with love and help them abide to biblical principles”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/teach-the-people-with-love-and-help-them-abide-to-biblical-principles/)

[Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/)

> [Sex is a natural function. You can't make it happen, but you can teach people to let it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sex-is-a-natural-function-you-can-t-make-it-happen-but-you-can-teach/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [It's not my job at the Institute to teach where people are in the art world - in the world of art historically. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-jordan/it-s-not-my-job-at-the-institute-to-teach-where-people-are-in-the-art/)

[Lawrence Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-jordan/)

> [Regrettably, people today don't watch many programs that actually teach people how to cook, so I agreed to do a competitive show that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-ben-israel/regrettably-people-today-don-t-watch-many-programs-that-actually/)

[Ron Ben-Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-ben-israel/)

> [I'm not so sure that I can teach people how to, you know, write dialogue or create plot or anything like that. But if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-m-not-so-sure-that-i-can-teach-people-how-to-you-know-write/)

[Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/)

> [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/)

[Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/)

## 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 Book quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/)

[Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/)

> [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/)

[Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/)

> [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/)

[Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/)

> [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/)

[Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/)

> [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/)

[Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/)

> [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/)

[Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/)

[Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "If I were a maker of books I should compile a register, with comments, of different deaths. He who should teach people to die, would teach them to live.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michel de Montaigne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-i-were-a-maker-of-books-i-should-compile-a-register-with-comments/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Book"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-i-were-a-maker-of-books-i-should-compile-a-register-with-comments/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/michel-de-montaigne-142_book_if-i-were-a-maker-of-books-i-should-comp_3211397.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/michel-de-montaigne-142_book_if-i-were-a-maker-of-books-i-should-comp_3211397.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/michel-de-montaigne-142_book_if-i-were-a-maker-of-books-i-should-comp_3211397.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“If I were a maker of books I should compile a register, with comments, of different deaths. He who should…” — 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": "If I were a maker of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-i-were-a-maker-of-books-i-should-compile-a-register-with-comments/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-i-were-a-maker-of-books-i-should-compile-a-register-with-comments/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```