--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a thorny undertaking, and more so…" description: "\"It is a thorny undertaking, and more so than it seems, to follow a movement so wandering as that of our mind, to penetrate the opaque depths of its inn..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/michel-de-montaigne-142_agitate_it-is-a-thorny-undertaking-and-more-so-t_3077556.jpg" --- # It is a thorny undertaking, and more so than it seems, to… ![“It is a thorny undertaking, and more so than it seems, to follow a movement so wandering as that of our mind, to penetrate the opaque depths of its innermost folds, to pick out and immobilize the innumerable flutterings that agitate it.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/michel-de-montaigne-142_agitate_it-is-a-thorny-undertaking-and-more-so-t_3077556.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/michel-de-montaigne-142_agitate_it-is-a-thorny-undertaking-and-more-so-t_3077556.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/michel-de-montaigne-142_agitate_it-is-a-thorny-undertaking-and-more-so-t_3077556.jpg) > “It is a thorny undertaking, and more so than it seems, to follow a movement so wandering as that of our mind, to penetrate the opaque depths of its innermost folds, to pick out and immobilize the innumerable flutterings that agitate it.” [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 passage describes the difficulty of understanding and controlling the restless, wandering nature of the human mind, likening it to a complex, opaque depth. **In simple terms:** Our thoughts are hard to grasp and calm. Key Takeaway Practice mindfulness to observe thoughts without trying to control them. Themes mindfulness self-awareness philosophy Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - meditation - journaling - psychotherapy - studying philosophy Key Concepts cognitive complexity mental discipline Questions to Reflect On - What mental patterns keep you unsettled? - Can you observe thoughts without judgment? A Different Perspective The mind may resist being fully understood, limiting the effectiveness of introspection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Depth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depth/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Opaque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opaque/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Wandering mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wandering-mind/) ## Related quotes > [“The mind cannot really rest or be still: it is either busy, or non-existent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-mind-cannot-really-rest-or-be-still-it-is-either-busy-or-non/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“The mind is a drama queen that gets too embarrassed to continue acting up, after only a few seconds of getting our undivided attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-mind-is-a-drama-queen-that-gets-too-embarrassed-to-continue/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“We cannot really experience something while we are thinking, not even the act of thinking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/we-cannot-really-experience-something-while-we-are-thinking-not-even/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Meditation is generally an alternation between the feeling of bliss and the witnessing of a thought having a problem with the having of thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/meditation-is-generally-an-alternation-between-the-feeling-of-bliss/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [When you are simply observing your breath, you are perceiving an automatically unfolding process in your body. By contrast, when you are observing your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-metzinger/when-you-are-simply-observing-your-breath-you-are-perceiving-an/) [Thomas Metzinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-metzinger/) > [Renewed shall be blade that was broken, The crownless again shall be king.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-r-tolkien-2/renewed-shall-be-blade-that-was-broken-the-crownless-again-shall-be/) [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-r-tolkien-2/) > [“Yoga practice can make us more and more sensitive to subtler and subtler sensations in the body. Paying attention to and staying with finer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-ravindra/yoga-practice-can-make-us-more-and-more-sensitive-to-subtler-and/) [Ravi Ravindra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-ravindra/) > [“The mind is a sweetheart, when it is wondering; and a bitch, when it is wandering.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-mind-is-a-sweetheart-when-it-is-wondering-and-a-bitch-when-it-is/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“...Jesus opens his arms to his needy children and says, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-e-miller/jesus-opens-his-arms-to-his-needy-children-and-says-come-to-me-all/) [Paul E. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-e-miller/) > [“Evagrius said, ‘A wandering mind is strengthened by reading, and prayer. Passion is dampened down by hunger and work and solitude. Anger is repressed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedicta-ward/evagrius-said-a-wandering-mind-is-strengthened-by-reading-and-prayer/) [Benedicta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedicta-ward/) > [“I do not think I’m easy to define. I have a wandering mind. And I’m not anything that you think I am.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd-hoff/i-do-not-think-i-m-easy-to-define-i-have-a-wandering-mind-and-i-m-not/) Syd Hoff > [Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-muktananda/your-goal-is-not-to-battle-with-the-mind-but-to-witness-the-mind/) [Swami Muktananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-muktananda/) > [Sometimes I get lost in my thoughts, just wandering around in my own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-get-lost-in-my-thoughts-just-wandering-around-in-my-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The criteria for coming to Jesus is weariness. Come overwhelmed with life. Come with your wandering mind. Come messy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-e-miller/the-criteria-for-coming-to-jesus-is-weariness-come-overwhelmed-with/) [Paul E. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-e-miller/) > [“The breath is the rein for the mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/the-breath-is-the-rein-for-the-mind/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## 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 Agitate quotes > [“If lies comfort, and truth disturbs - self is being agitated as a result of prideful living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-f-hodge/if-lies-comfort-and-truth-disturbs-self-is-being-agitated-as-a-result/) [T.F. Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-f-hodge/) > [There is no eloquence which does not agitate the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/there-is-no-eloquence-which-does-not-agitate-the-soul/) [Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/) > [As has been reported, and is unmistakably evident to all but the most naïve, federal employees have been ordered to exploit this crisis, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kengor/as-has-been-reported-and-is-unmistakably-evident-to-all-but-the-most/) [Paul Kengor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kengor/) > [Organize, agitate, educate, must be our war cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/organize-agitate-educate-must-be-our-war-cry/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [I don't know how you feel, but I feel like writing, clarity of thought, and truth have been validated because we see what happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-don-t-know-how-you-feel-but-i-feel-like-writing-clarity-of-thought/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Language is, in other words, not necessary, but voluntary. If it were necessary, it would have stayed simple; it would not agitate our hearts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/language-is-in-other-words-not-necessary-but-voluntary-if-it-were/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [The most violent passions sometimes leave us at rest, but vanity agitates us constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/the-most-violent-passions-sometimes-leave-us-at-rest-but-vanity/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [My final words of advice to you are educate, agitate and organize; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side I do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/my-final-words-of-advice-to-you-are-educate-agitate-and-organize-have/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [In the beginning, when you are meditating, just ignore thought. Shine it on. Then after you are comfortable sitting there, try selectively eliminating negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/in-the-beginning-when-you-are-meditating-just-ignore-thought-shine-it/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Agitate him and ascertain the pattern of his movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/agitate-him-and-ascertain-the-pattern-of-his-movement/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [But in his Farewell Address, George Washington made it clear that he perceived no greater threat to the American experiment than a partisan demagogue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-avlon/but-in-his-farewell-address-george-washington-made-it-clear-that-he/) [John Avlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-avlon/) > [The risk is enormous to Democrats. Even talking about censure or impeachment threatens to really agitate the Republican base.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-cook/the-risk-is-enormous-to-democrats-even-talking-about-censure-or/) [Charlie Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-cook/) > [Pour some water into a tub and stir it up. Now try as hard as you can to calm the water with your hands;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/koichi-tohei/pour-some-water-into-a-tub-and-stir-it-up-now-try-as-hard-as-you-can/) [Koichi Tohei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/koichi-tohei/) > [Humility does not disturb or disquiet or agitate, however great it may be; it comes with peace, delight, and calm. . . . The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/humility-does-not-disturb-or-disquiet-or-agitate-however-great-it-may/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) > [Tolerance is really a better thing than understanding. Because it doesn't agitate against human nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/tolerance-is-really-a-better-thing-than-understanding-because-it/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) Browse all 54 Agitate quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is a thorny undertaking, and more so than it seems, to follow a movement so wandering as that of our mind, to penetrate the opaque depths of its innermost folds, to pick out and immobilize the innumerable flutterings that agitate it.", "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-thorny-undertaking-and-more-so-than-it-seems-to-follow-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agitate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/it-is-a-thorny-undertaking-and-more-so-than-it-seems-to-follow-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/michel-de-montaigne-142_agitate_it-is-a-thorny-undertaking-and-more-so-t_3077556.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/michel-de-montaigne-142_agitate_it-is-a-thorny-undertaking-and-more-so-t_3077556.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f9/michel-de-montaigne-142_agitate_it-is-a-thorny-undertaking-and-more-so-t_3077556.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a thorny undertaking, and more so than it seems, to follow a movement so wandering as that of our…” — 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 thorny undertaking, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/it-is-a-thorny-undertaking-and-more-so-than-it-seems-to-follow-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/it-is-a-thorny-undertaking-and-more-so-than-it-seems-to-follow-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 } } ] } ```