--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a disaster that wisdom forbids you…" description: "\"It is a disaster that wisdom forbids you to be satisfied with yourself and always sends you away dissatisfied and fearful, whereas stubbornness and foo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/495/michel-de-montaigne-142_assurance_it-is-a-disaster-that-wisdom-forbids-you_2876995.jpg" --- # It is a disaster that wisdom forbids you to be satisfied… ![“It is a disaster that wisdom forbids you to be satisfied with yourself and always sends you away dissatisfied and fearful, whereas stubbornness and foolhardiness fill their hosts with joy and assurance.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/495/michel-de-montaigne-142_assurance_it-is-a-disaster-that-wisdom-forbids-you_2876995.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/495/michel-de-montaigne-142_assurance_it-is-a-disaster-that-wisdom-forbids-you_2876995.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/495/michel-de-montaigne-142_assurance_it-is-a-disaster-that-wisdom-forbids-you_2876995.jpg) > “It is a disaster that wisdom forbids you to be satisfied with yourself and always sends you away dissatisfied and fearful, whereas stubbornness and foolhardiness fill their hosts with joy and assurance.” [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. Pursuing wisdom can lead to perpetual dissatisfaction, while stubbornness and recklessness bring confidence and joy. **In simple terms:** Wisdom creates discontent; stubbornness brings joy. Key Takeaway Balance humility with confidence. Themes philosophy contentment confidence Mood thoughtful balanced Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - personal development - risk‑taking - leadership - creative work Key Concepts wisdom vs. folly human nature Questions to Reflect On - When does stubbornness become harmful? - How can wisdom be satisfying? A Different Perspective Excessive confidence can be reckless. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assurance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assurance/) [Confidence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence/) [Disaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disaster/) [Fearful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearful/) [Foolhardiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foolhardiness/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Stubbornness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stubbornness/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [I believe that obstinacy, or the dread of control and discipline, arises not so much from self-willedness as from a conscious defect of voluntary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/i-believe-that-obstinacy-or-the-dread-of-control-and-discipline/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“There I was to attempt, Jupiter-only-knew what extravagant acts of foolhardiness, what some people call bravery, to rescue a barbarian I barely knew. Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelo-tsanatelis/there-i-was-to-attempt-jupiter-only-knew-what-extravagant-acts-of/) [Angelo Tsanatelis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelo-tsanatelis/) > [“So my foolhardiness has produced the correct strategy, Count?” “Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-westerfeld/so-my-foolhardiness-has-produced-the-correct-strategy-count-even-a/) [Scott Westerfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-westerfeld/) > [I have never regretted our foolhardiness. Of course, we made mistakes, endless mistakes, but at least they were our own, just as the garden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-fish/i-have-never-regretted-our-foolhardiness-of-course-we-made-mistakes/) [Margery Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-fish/) > [Bravery ceases to be bravery at a certain point, and becomes mere foolhardiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/bravery-ceases-to-be-bravery-at-a-certain-point-and-becomes-mere/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“There is a very thin line of demarcation between bravery and foolhardiness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-shourie/there-is-a-very-thin-line-of-demarcation-between-bravery-and/) [Anurag Shourie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-shourie/) > [“An experienced loner does not fall for the same trick twice.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wataru-watari/an-experienced-loner-does-not-fall-for-the-same-trick-twice/) [Wataru Watari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wataru-watari/) > [In the arts, foolhardiness is always harmful; even worse, however, is clumsiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/in-the-arts-foolhardiness-is-always-harmful-even-worse-however-is/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [“It's like killing each other is the only thing we know how to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-erin-hicks/it-s-like-killing-each-other-is-the-only-thing-we-know-how-to-do/) [Faith Erin Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-erin-hicks/) > [What we see as risk and foolhardiness on the outside, can seem more like constant cohesive drive on the inside that holds to priorities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/what-we-see-as-risk-and-foolhardiness-on-the-outside-can-seem-more/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [As for our pupils talk, let his virtue and his sense of right and wrong shine through it and have no guide but reason.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/as-for-our-pupils-talk-let-his-virtue-and-his-sense-of-right-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Obstinacy is the sister of constancy, at least in vigor and stability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/obstinacy-is-the-sister-of-constancy-at-least-in-vigor-and-stability/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [And obstinacy is the sister of constancy, at least in vigour and stability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/and-obstinacy-is-the-sister-of-constancy-at-least-in-vigour-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Research is an organized method of trying to find out what you are going to do after you cannot do what you are doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/research-is-an-organized-method-of-trying-to-find-out-what-you-are/) [Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) ## 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 Assurance quotes > [She had been dragged in the most humiliating of all dusts, the dust reserved for older women who let themselves be approached, on amorous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-von-arnim/she-had-been-dragged-in-the-most-humiliating-of-all-dusts-the-dust/) [Elizabeth von Arnim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-von-arnim/) > [A wholesome regard for the memory of the great men of long ago is the best assurance to a people of a continuation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/a-wholesome-regard-for-the-memory-of-the-great-men-of-long-ago-is-the/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [How arrogant - how very far from humility - would be the self-satisfied, smug assurance that God, a tidy-up-after-us God will come and clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-whitehouse/how-arrogant-how-very-far-from-humility-would-be-the-self-satisfied/) [Sheldon Whitehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-whitehouse/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [When God overcomes our difficulties for us, we have the assurance that we are engaged in His work and not our own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-muller/when-god-overcomes-our-difficulties-for-us-we-have-the-assurance-that/) [George Muller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-muller/) > [What really distinguishes this generation in all countries from earlier generations ... is its determination to act, its joy in action, the assurance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-really-distinguishes-this-generation-in-all-countries-from/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [There are believers who by God's grace, have climbed the mountains of full assurance and near communion, their place is with the eagle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/there-are-believers-who-by-god-s-grace-have-climbed-the-mountains-of/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Everybody in the real world will agree - the moment a project is behind deadline, quality assurance tends to go out the window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cox/everybody-in-the-real-world-will-agree-the-moment-a-project-is-behind/) Alan Cox > [Perhapsthemost sublimeinsights oftheJewishprophets and the Christian gospel is the knowledge that since perfection is love, the apprehension of perfection is at once the means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/perhapsthemost-sublimeinsights-ofthejewishprophets-and-the-christian/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [We have a commitment to serve our Lord. We have an assurance that the cause is just and worthy. But, above all, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-w-kimball/we-have-a-commitment-to-serve-our-lord-we-have-an-assurance-that-the/) [Spencer W. Kimball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-w-kimball/) > [“Out of all its squalor and human decay, its eruptions of butchery, India produced so many people of grace and beauty, ruled by elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-all-its-squalor-and-human-decay-its-eruptions-of-butchery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Do not rest, believer, until you have full assurance of your interest in Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/do-not-rest-believer-until-you-have-full-assurance-of-your-interest/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Confidentially, the type of male I find most enjoyable for a friend is one who has enough fire and assurance to speak up for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/confidentially-the-type-of-male-i-find-most-enjoyable-for-a-friend-is/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Our assurance is anchored in the love and grace of God expressed in the glorious exchange: our sin for His righteousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tullian-tchividjian/our-assurance-is-anchored-in-the-love-and-grace-of-god-expressed-in/) [Tullian Tchividjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tullian-tchividjian/) [Browse all 557 Assurance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assurance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a disaster that wisdom forbids you to be satisfied with yourself and always sends you away dissatisfied and fearful, whereas stubbornness and foolhardiness fill their hosts with joy and assurance.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/it-is-a-disaster-that-wisdom-forbids-you-to-be-satisfied-with/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assurance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/it-is-a-disaster-that-wisdom-forbids-you-to-be-satisfied-with/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/495/michel-de-montaigne-142_assurance_it-is-a-disaster-that-wisdom-forbids-you_2876995.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/495/michel-de-montaigne-142_assurance_it-is-a-disaster-that-wisdom-forbids-you_2876995.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/495/michel-de-montaigne-142_assurance_it-is-a-disaster-that-wisdom-forbids-you_2876995.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a disaster that wisdom forbids you to be satisfied with yourself and always sends you away…” — 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": "It is a disaster that wisdom...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/it-is-a-disaster-that-wisdom-forbids-you-to-be-satisfied-with/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/it-is-a-disaster-that-wisdom-forbids-you-to-be-satisfied-with/#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 } } ] } ```