--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only he can judge of matters great and…" description: "\"Only he can judge of matters great and high whose soul is likewise.\" — Michel de Montaigne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/michel-de-montaigne-142_inspirational_only-he-can-judge-of-matters-great-and-h_2122992.jpg" --- # Only he can judge of matters great and high whose soul is… ![“Only he can judge of matters great and high whose soul is likewise.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/michel-de-montaigne-142_inspirational_only-he-can-judge-of-matters-great-and-h_2122992.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/michel-de-montaigne-142_inspirational_only-he-can-judge-of-matters-great-and-h_2122992.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/michel-de-montaigne-142_inspirational_only-he-can-judge-of-matters-great-and-h_2122992.jpg) > “Only he can judge of matters great and high whose soul is likewise.” [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. Only those of noble character can truly judge lofty matters, as their souls reflect the same elevated standards. **In simple terms:** High standards require noble character. Key Takeaway Cultivate virtue to assess great matters wisely. Themes ethics leadership judgment Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - leadership - education - public service - personal development Key Concepts virtue philosophy moral authority Questions to Reflect On - What defines a noble soul in modern context? - How can we ensure judgments remain humble? A Different Perspective Judgment can be biased despite noble intentions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [High Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-soul-4339102/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Judge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judge/) [Judging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judging/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Matters Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matters-great-3210468/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) [Soul Likewise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul-likewise-4339101/) ## Related quotes > [To every man there openeth a way, and ways, and a way. And the high soul climbs the high way, and the low soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-dunkerley/to-every-man-there-openeth-a-way-and-ways-and-a-way-and-the-high-soul/) [William Arthur Dunkerley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-dunkerley/) > [You can only be funny if you have matters of great importance on your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-can-only-be-funny-if-you-have-matters-of-great-importance-on-your/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Whatever is underneath all the drag, it actually doesn't really matter. It kind of just matters, are you a great entertainer? And are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trixie-mattel/whatever-is-underneath-all-the-drag-it-actually-doesn-t-really-matter/) [Trixie Mattel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trixie-mattel/) > [Your conduct matters a great deal. What’s in your mind matters even more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jetsunma-ahkon-lhamo/your-conduct-matters-a-great-deal-what-s-in-your-mind-matters-even/) [Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jetsunma-ahkon-lhamo/) > [What matters is that you do great work, and you will definitely be remembered for that for years to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armaan-malik/what-matters-is-that-you-do-great-work-and-you-will-definitely-be/) [Armaan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armaan-malik/) > [It matters a great deal that I come from a Jewish background.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-westheimer/it-matters-a-great-deal-that-i-come-from-a-jewish-background/) [Ruth Westheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-westheimer/) > [It does not matter much whom we live with in this world, but it matters a great deal whom we dream of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/it-does-not-matter-much-whom-we-live-with-in-this-world-but-it/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Thus we should beware of clinging to vulgar opinions, and judge things by reason's way, not by popular say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/thus-we-should-beware-of-clinging-to-vulgar-opinions-and-judge-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I judge people by their own principles..not by my own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-judge-people-by-their-own-principles-not-by-my-own/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Do not mind anything that anyone tells you about anyone else. Judge everyone and everything for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/do-not-mind-anything-that-anyone-tells-you-about-anyone-else-judge/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Powers Hapgood had just come from court because there was some kind of dust-up on a picket line. The judge was so curious about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/powers-hapgood-had-just-come-from-court-because-there-was-some-kind/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“While you judge me by my outward appearance I am silently doing the same to you, even though there's a ninety-percent chance that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/while-you-judge-me-by-my-outward-appearance-i-am-silently-doing-the/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [I have no faith in my ability to judge things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-have-no-faith-in-my-ability-to-judge-things/) [Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/) > [Don't judge everyone else by your own limited experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/don-t-judge-everyone-else-by-your-own-limited-experience/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [They judge lest they be judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/they-judge-lest-they-be-judged/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) ## 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 Inspirational quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/) [H. 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And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) [Browse all 114,561 Inspirational quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only he can judge of matters great and high whose soul is likewise.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/only-he-can-judge-of-matters-great-and-high-whose-soul-is-likewise/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Inspirational" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/only-he-can-judge-of-matters-great-and-high-whose-soul-is-likewise/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/michel-de-montaigne-142_inspirational_only-he-can-judge-of-matters-great-and-h_2122992.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/michel-de-montaigne-142_inspirational_only-he-can-judge-of-matters-great-and-h_2122992.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a6/michel-de-montaigne-142_inspirational_only-he-can-judge-of-matters-great-and-h_2122992.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only he can judge of matters great and high whose soul is likewise.” — 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": "Only he can judge of matters...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/only-he-can-judge-of-matters-great-and-high-whose-soul-is-likewise/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/only-he-can-judge-of-matters-great-and-high-whose-soul-is-likewise/#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 } } ] } ```