--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Once conform, once do what others do…" description: "\"Once conform, once do what others do because they do it, and a kind of lethargy steals over all the finer senses of the soul.\" — Michel de Montaigne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a7/michel-de-montaigne-142_conform_once-conform-once-do-what-others-do-beca_1916904.jpg" --- # Once conform, once do what others do because they do it… ![“Once conform, once do what others do because they do it, and a kind of lethargy steals over all the finer senses of the soul.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a7/michel-de-montaigne-142_conform_once-conform-once-do-what-others-do-beca_1916904.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a7/michel-de-montaigne-142_conform_once-conform-once-do-what-others-do-beca_1916904.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1a7/michel-de-montaigne-142_conform_once-conform-once-do-what-others-do-beca_1916904.jpg) > “Once conform, once do what others do because they do it, and a kind of lethargy steals over all the finer senses of the soul.” [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. Conformity breeds lethargy, dulling the soul’s finer senses; individuality preserves vitality. **In simple terms:** Following others dulls the soul. Key Takeaway Cultivate independent thought. Themes conformity individuality lethargy spiritual health Mood reflective philosophical Type thought‑provoking inspirational When to use this quote - making personal decisions - pursuing unique hobbies - critical thinking exercises Key Concepts philosophy psychology self‑awareness Questions to Reflect On - When do you resist the crowd? - How does independence affect your wellbeing? A Different Perspective Societal pressure can be overwhelming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conform/) [Conform Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conform-kind-1325041/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kind Lethargy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-lethargy-2920772/) [Lethargy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lethargy/) [Lethargy Steals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lethargy-steals-2920771/) [Senses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senses/) [Senses Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/senses-soul-1081267/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) ## Related quotes > [Once conform, once do what other people do because they do it, and a lethargy steals over all the finer nerves and faculties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/once-conform-once-do-what-other-people-do-because-they-do-it-and-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Once conform, once do what other people do because they do it, and a lethargy steals over all the finer nerves and faculties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/once-conform-once-do-what-other-people-do-because-they-do-it-and-a-2/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Kids are the most conventional people in the world. It is more important than anything else for them to conform, and I was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-heston/kids-are-the-most-conventional-people-in-the-world-it-is-more/) [Charlton Heston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-heston/) > [Everything has to come through the senses, as though the soul is speaking out through the senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-huxley/everything-has-to-come-through-the-senses-as-though-the-soul-is/) [Laura Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-huxley/) > [“The soul cannot be perceived by the five senses.The soul speaks to us through our intuitive mind."-Serena Jade”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serena-jade/the-soul-cannot-be-perceived-by-the-five-senses-the-soul-speaks-to-us/) [Serena Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serena-jade/) > [Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/nothing-can-cure-the-soul-but-the-senses-just-as-nothing-can-cure-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Your body has five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. 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Empathy… ¥](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-five-senses-of-the-soul-intuition-peace-foresigh-t-trust-empathy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most beautiful lives, to my mind, are those that conform to the common human pattern, with order, but without miracle and without eccentricity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-most-beautiful-lives-to-my-mind-are-those-that-conform-to-the/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I don't break the law\* made for crooks, when I take away my own property - thus I am not obliged to conform to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-don-t-break-the-law-made-for-crooks-when-i-take-away-my-own/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [ \[The sceptic\] must acknowledge, if he will acknowledge any thing, that all human life must perish, were his principles to prevail.All discourse, all action… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/the-sceptic-must-acknowledge-if-he-will-acknowledge-any-thing-that/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [The problem with lethargy is that doing nothing validates the fear that nothing can be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-crawford/the-problem-with-lethargy-is-that-doing-nothing-validates-the-fear/) [Bill Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-crawford/) > [What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/what-country-can-preserve-its-liberties-if-its-rulers-are-not-warned/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) ## 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. 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