---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Physicians have this advantage: the sun…"
description: "\"Physicians have this advantage: the sun lights their success and the earth covers their failures.\" — Michel de Montaigne"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/michel-de-montaigne-142_advantage_physicians-have-this-advantage-the-sun-l_209427.jpg"
---

#  Physicians have this advantage: the sun lights their…

![“Physicians have this advantage: the sun lights their success and the earth covers their failures.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/michel-de-montaigne-142_advantage_physicians-have-this-advantage-the-sun-l_209427.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/michel-de-montaigne-142_advantage_physicians-have-this-advantage-the-sun-l_209427.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/michel-de-montaigne-142_advantage_physicians-have-this-advantage-the-sun-l_209427.jpg)

> “Physicians have this advantage: the sun lights their success and the earth covers their failures.”

[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.

Physicians benefit from nature’s light on success and its concealment of mistakes.

**In simple terms:** Doctors have visible success and hidden failures.

Key Takeaway

Recognize both triumphs and hidden errors.

Themes

medicine humility nature

Mood

thoughtful analytical

Type

philosophical ethical

When to use this quote

- clinical practice
- medical education
- patient communication

Key Concepts

ethical practice self‑awareness

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance confidence with humility?
- What can reveal hidden mistakes?

A Different Perspective

Success can be overstated, failures may be ignored.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Physicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physicians/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sun/)

## Related quotes

> [Who ever saw a doctor use the prescription of his colleague without cutting out or adding something?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/who-ever-saw-a-doctor-use-the-prescription-of-his-colleague-without/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [There is no passion that so much transports men from their right judgments as anger. No one would demur upon punishing a judge with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-is-no-passion-that-so-much-transports-men-from-their-right/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [Adrian, the Emperor, exclaimed incessantly, when dying, "That the crowd of physicians had killed him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/adrian-the-emperor-exclaimed-incessantly-when-dying-that-the-crowd-of/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [If anyone doubts the influence of drug company ads on patients and physicians - consider all those wasted billions of dollars for a pill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bazell/if-anyone-doubts-the-influence-of-drug-company-ads-on-patients-and/)

Robert Bazell

> [I became a physician in order to help save lives. I am at once a physician, a citizen, and a woman, and I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mildred-fay-jefferson/i-became-a-physician-in-order-to-help-save-lives-i-am-at-once-a/)

Mildred Fay Jefferson

> [I early conceived a liking for, and sought every opportunity to relieve the sufferings of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-lee-crumpler/i-early-conceived-a-liking-for-and-sought-every-opportunity-to/)

Rebecca Lee Crumpler

> [Nowhere is wisdom more necessary than in the guidance of charitable impulses. Meaning well is only half our duty; Thinking right is the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-gridley-howe/nowhere-is-wisdom-more-necessary-than-in-the-guidance-of-charitable/)

Samuel Gridley Howe

> [I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-have-ever-hated-all-nations-professions-and-communities-and-all-my/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [He who cures a disease may be the skillfullest, but he that prevents it is the safest physician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-fuller/he-who-cures-a-disease-may-be-the-skillfullest-but-he-that-prevents/)

[Thomas Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-fuller/)

> [I am not impressed with what people own. But I’m impressed with what they achieve. I’m proud to be a physician. Always strive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-j-stanley/i-am-not-impressed-with-what-people-own-but-i-m-impressed-with-what/)

[Thomas J. Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-j-stanley/)

> [We come unbidden into this life, and if we are lucky we find a purpose beyond starvation, misery, and early death which, lest we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/we-come-unbidden-into-this-life-and-if-we-are-lucky-we-find-a-purpose/)

[Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/)

> [Physicians, when the cause of disease is discovered, consider that the cure is discovered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/physicians-when-the-cause-of-disease-is-discovered-consider-that-the/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [The examining physician often hesitates to make the necessary examination because it involves soiling the finger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james-mayo/the-examining-physician-often-hesitates-to-make-the-necessary/)

[William James Mayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james-mayo/)

> [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/)

[Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/)

> [We ought to observe that practice which is the hardest of all-especially for young physicians-we ought to throw in no medicine at all-to abstain-to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-randolph-of-roanoke/we-ought-to-observe-that-practice-which-is-the-hardest-of-all/)

John Randolph of Roanoke

## 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 Advantage quotes

> [Dogmatists have one advantage: they are poor listeners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frans-de-waal/dogmatists-have-one-advantage-they-are-poor-listeners/)

[Frans de Waal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frans-de-waal/)

> [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/)

[Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/)

> [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/)

[Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/)

> [All I ever wanted was an unfair advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-wynn/all-i-ever-wanted-was-an-unfair-advantage/)

[Garrison Wynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-wynn/)

> [Part of the advantage, and part of the result of trying to be a producer and director, are the practical things, you find. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/part-of-the-advantage-and-part-of-the-result-of-trying-to-be-a/)

[Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/)

> [I was born with a silver microphone in my mouth, and that was an advantage. My father wrote books and was also a great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dimbleby/i-was-born-with-a-silver-microphone-in-my-mouth-and-that-was-an/)

[Jonathan Dimbleby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dimbleby/)

> [Like funny men, skilled diners are apparently perceived to have an evolutionary advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/like-funny-men-skilled-diners-are-apparently-perceived-to-have-an/)

[Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/)

> [For some reason when I decide to pursue something, I never have any fear that it won't happen. I think it's just ingrained in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-blatz/for-some-reason-when-i-decide-to-pursue-something-i-never-have-any/)

[Kelly Blatz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-blatz/)

> [I think I have good hands, so I try to use them to my advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bianca-andreescu/i-think-i-have-good-hands-so-i-try-to-use-them-to-my-advantage/)

[Bianca Andreescu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bianca-andreescu/)

> [My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rokia-traore/my-influences-are-jazz-blues-european-classical-music-they-are-rock/)

[Rokia Traore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rokia-traore/)

> [Baseball needs to put the steroids era behind it by having and enforcing tough rules against all kinds of artificial advantages, so that spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-olasky/baseball-needs-to-put-the-steroids-era-behind-it-by-having-and/)

[Marvin Olasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-olasky/)

> [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. Here, too, the real advantage of male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/daily-contact-with-some-teachers-is-itself-all-sided-ethical/)

[G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/)

> [ If \[Donald\] Trump throws 20 million off of health care, that's going to be - if he handles this badly - and it's very… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/if-donald-trump-throws-20-million-off-of-health-care-that-s-going-to/)

[Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/)

> [Live in the world you inhabit. Look upon things as they are. Take them as you find them. Make the best of them. Turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/live-in-the-world-you-inhabit-look-upon-things-as-they-are-take-them/)

[Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/)

> [I always tell women that the fact that you're different and that you're noticed, because there are few of us in the tech industry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padmasree-warrior/i-always-tell-women-that-the-fact-that-you-re-different-and-that-you/)

[Padmasree Warrior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padmasree-warrior/)

[Browse all 3,503 Advantage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Physicians have this advantage: the sun lights their success and the earth covers their failures.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michel de Montaigne"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/physicians-have-this-advantage-the-sun-lights-their-success-and-the/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Advantage"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/physicians-have-this-advantage-the-sun-lights-their-success-and-the/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/michel-de-montaigne-142_advantage_physicians-have-this-advantage-the-sun-l_209427.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/michel-de-montaigne-142_advantage_physicians-have-this-advantage-the-sun-l_209427.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/michel-de-montaigne-142_advantage_physicians-have-this-advantage-the-sun-l_209427.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Physicians have this advantage: the sun lights their success and the earth covers their failures.” — 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": "Physicians have this advantage: the sun...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/physicians-have-this-advantage-the-sun-lights-their-success-and-the/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/physicians-have-this-advantage-the-sun-lights-their-success-and-the/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
