---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No one is exempt from speaking nonsense…"
description: "\"“No one is exempt from speaking nonsense. The great misfortune is to do it solemnly.”\" — Michel de Montaigne"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/michel-de-montaigne-142_great-misfortune_no-one-is-exempt-from-speaking-nonsense_432526.jpg"
---

#  No one is exempt from speaking nonsense. The great…

![“No one is exempt from speaking nonsense. The great misfortune is to do it solemnly.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/michel-de-montaigne-142_great-misfortune_no-one-is-exempt-from-speaking-nonsense_432526.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/michel-de-montaigne-142_great-misfortune_no-one-is-exempt-from-speaking-nonsense_432526.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81f/michel-de-montaigne-142_great-misfortune_no-one-is-exempt-from-speaking-nonsense_432526.jpg)

> ““No one is exempt from speaking nonsense. The great misfortune is to do it solemnly.””

[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.

Speaking nonsense is inevitable; the real danger is treating it seriously.

**In simple terms:** Nonsense is common; seriousness makes it harmful.

Key Takeaway

Take words seriously, speak wisely.

Themes

humor humility communication

Mood

reflective wry

Type

philosophical satirical

When to use this quote

- public speaking
- online debates
- teaching
- leadership

Key Concepts

self-awareness social critique

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you distinguish harmless jokes from harmful statements?
- When should you correct someone’s nonsense?

A Different Perspective

Even sincere speech can be foolish; context matters.

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## Related quotes

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> [A man speaking sense to himself is no madder than a man speaking nonsense not to himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/a-man-speaking-sense-to-himself-is-no-madder-than-a-man-speaking/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [This great misfortune, to be incapable of solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/this-great-misfortune-to-be-incapable-of-solitude/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [The door could not be heard slamming; they had probably left it open, as is the custom in homes where a great misfortune has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-door-could-not-be-heard-slamming-they-had-probably-left-it-open/)

[Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/)

> [It is a great misfortune to be alone, my friends; and it must be believed that solitude can quickly destroy reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/it-is-a-great-misfortune-to-be-alone-my-friends-and-it-must-be/)

[Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/)

> [Men cling to life even at the cost of enduring great misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/men-cling-to-life-even-at-the-cost-of-enduring-great-misfortune/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [I have had a great misfortune; my dear old dog is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-russell-mitford/i-have-had-a-great-misfortune-my-dear-old-dog-is-dead/)

[Mary Russell Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-russell-mitford/)

> [Love feels like a great misfortune, a monstrous parasite, a permanent state of emergency that ruins all small pleasures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/love-feels-like-a-great-misfortune-a-monstrous-parasite-a-permanent/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [“And even though we may be involved with the most important affairs, achieve distinction or fall into some great misfortune- all the same, let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-even-though-we-may-be-involved-with-the-most-important-affairs/)

[Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/)

> [It is a great misfortune to be of use to nobody; scarcely less to be of use to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-is-a-great-misfortune-to-be-of-use-to-nobody-scarcely-less-to-be/)

[Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/)

> [It is my great misfortune that I have to measure your love by the money gifts you give for Daridranarayana.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-is-my-great-misfortune-that-i-have-to-measure-your-love-by-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [For an enemy so relentless in the war for our subjugation, we could not be expected to mourn; yet, in view of its political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-davis/for-an-enemy-so-relentless-in-the-war-for-our-subjugation-we-could/)

[Jefferson Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-davis/)

> [What passes out of one's mouth passes into a hundred ears. It is a great misfortune not to have sense enough to speak well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/what-passes-out-of-one-s-mouth-passes-into-a-hundred-ears-it-is-a/)

[Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/)

> [Great good nature without prudence is a great misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/great-good-nature-without-prudence-is-a-great-misfortune/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

## 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/)

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> [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/)

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[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 Great Misfortune quotes

> [Great good nature without prudence is a great misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/great-good-nature-without-prudence-is-a-great-misfortune/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [What passes out of one's mouth passes into a hundred ears. It is a great misfortune not to have sense enough to speak well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/what-passes-out-of-one-s-mouth-passes-into-a-hundred-ears-it-is-a/)

[Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/)

> [For an enemy so relentless in the war for our subjugation, we could not be expected to mourn; yet, in view of its political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-davis/for-an-enemy-so-relentless-in-the-war-for-our-subjugation-we-could/)

[Jefferson Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-davis/)

> [It is my great misfortune that I have to measure your love by the money gifts you give for Daridranarayana.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-is-my-great-misfortune-that-i-have-to-measure-your-love-by-the/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [It is a great misfortune to be of use to nobody; scarcely less to be of use to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-is-a-great-misfortune-to-be-of-use-to-nobody-scarcely-less-to-be/)

[Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/)

> [“And even though we may be involved with the most important affairs, achieve distinction or fall into some great misfortune- all the same, let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/and-even-though-we-may-be-involved-with-the-most-important-affairs/)

[Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/)

> [Love feels like a great misfortune, a monstrous parasite, a permanent state of emergency that ruins all small pleasures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/love-feels-like-a-great-misfortune-a-monstrous-parasite-a-permanent/)

[Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/)

> [I have had a great misfortune; my dear old dog is dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-russell-mitford/i-have-had-a-great-misfortune-my-dear-old-dog-is-dead/)

[Mary Russell Mitford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-russell-mitford/)

> [Men cling to life even at the cost of enduring great misfortune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/men-cling-to-life-even-at-the-cost-of-enduring-great-misfortune/)

[Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/)

> [It is a great misfortune to be alone, my friends; and it must be believed that solitude can quickly destroy reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/it-is-a-great-misfortune-to-be-alone-my-friends-and-it-must-be/)

[Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/)

> [The door could not be heard slamming; they had probably left it open, as is the custom in homes where a great misfortune has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-door-could-not-be-heard-slamming-they-had-probably-left-it-open/)

[Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/)

> [This great misfortune, to be incapable of solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/this-great-misfortune-to-be-incapable-of-solitude/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [Man's great misfortune is that he has no organ, no kind of eyelid or brake, to mask or block a thought, or all thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/man-s-great-misfortune-is-that-he-has-no-organ-no-kind-of-eyelid-or/)

[Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/)

> [It is a great misfortune neither to have enough wit to talk well nor enough judgment to be silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/it-is-a-great-misfortune-neither-to-have-enough-wit-to-talk-well-nor/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

> [It is a great misfortune not to possess sufficient wit to speak well, nor sufficient judgment to keep silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/it-is-a-great-misfortune-not-to-possess-sufficient-wit-to-speak-well/)

[Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/)

Browse all 22 Great Misfortune quotes

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