--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The beginnings of all things are weak and…" description: "\"The beginnings of all things are weak and tender. We must therefore be clear-sighted in the beginnings, for, as in their budding we discern not the dan..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/michel-de-montaigne-142_all-things_the-beginnings-of-all-things-are-weak-an_2435800.jpg" --- # The beginnings of all things are weak and tender. We must… ![“The beginnings of all things are weak and tender. We must therefore be clear-sighted in the beginnings, for, as in their budding we discern not the danger, so in their full growth we perceive not the remedy.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/michel-de-montaigne-142_all-things_the-beginnings-of-all-things-are-weak-an_2435800.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/michel-de-montaigne-142_all-things_the-beginnings-of-all-things-are-weak-an_2435800.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac4/michel-de-montaigne-142_all-things_the-beginnings-of-all-things-are-weak-an_2435800.jpg) > “The beginnings of all things are weak and tender. We must therefore be clear-sighted in the beginnings, for, as in their budding we discern not the danger, so in their full growth we perceive not the remedy.” [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. Early stages are fragile; clear insight then prevents later crises. **In simple terms:** Early weakness needs careful observation. Key Takeaway Observe beginnings to guide later growth. Themes growth vulnerability foresight Mood reflective cautious Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Parenting - startup formation - personal development - health recovery Key Concepts Human nature development risk assessment Questions to Reflect On - What signs do you trust in new ventures? - How can you balance caution with action? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on early signs may cause paralysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [All things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-things/) [Beginnings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings/) [Beginnings Budding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings-budding-338169/) [Beginnings Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginnings-things-338170/) [Budding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/budding-338171/) [Clear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clear/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Perceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perceive/) [Remedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remedy/) [Sighted Beginnings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sighted-beginnings-338172/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) ## Related quotes > [It is easy to see the beginnings of things, and harder to see the ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/it-is-easy-to-see-the-beginnings-of-things-and-harder-to-see-the-ends/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Ends and beginnings—there are no such things. There are only middles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/ends-and-beginnings-there-are-no-such-things-there-are-only-middles/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The first beginnings of things cannot be distinguished by the eye.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/the-first-beginnings-of-things-cannot-be-distinguished-by-the-eye/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [The beginnings of all things are small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/the-beginnings-of-all-things-are-small/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Nourish beginnings, let us nourish beginnings. Not all things are blest, but the seeds of all things are blest. The blessing is in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-rukeyser/nourish-beginnings-let-us-nourish-beginnings-not-all-things-are-blest/) [Muriel Rukeyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-rukeyser/) > [You're searching... For things that don't exist; I mean beginnings. Ends and beginnings - there are no such things. There are only middles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/you-re-searching-for-things-that-don-t-exist-i-mean-beginnings-ends/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [Catherine Land liked the beginnings of things. The pure white possibility of the empty room, the first kiss, the first swipe at larceny. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-goolrick/catherine-land-liked-the-beginnings-of-things-the-pure-white/) [Robert Goolrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-goolrick/) > [During youth a blossoming and budding forth tries to happen from inside out as each young person encounters what is seeded in them and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-meade/during-youth-a-blossoming-and-budding-forth-tries-to-happen-from/) [Michael Meade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-meade/) > [There's something very misleading about the literary culture that looks at writers in their 30s and calls them 'budding' or 'promising', when in fact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/there-s-something-very-misleading-about-the-literary-culture-that/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [Unstructured play gives kids the space they need to tinker and take risks - both vital for the budding entrepreneur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darell-hammond/unstructured-play-gives-kids-the-space-they-need-to-tinker-and-take/) [Darell Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darell-hammond/) > [Patience doesn't mean making a pact with the devil of denial, ignoring our emotions and aspirations. It means being wholeheartedly engaged in the process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/patience-doesn-t-mean-making-a-pact-with-the-devil-of-denial-ignoring/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [A budding writer wants to be encouraged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/a-budding-writer-wants-to-be-encouraged/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [The budding rose above the rose full blown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/the-budding-rose-above-the-rose-full-blown/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [There is a budding morrow in midnight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/there-is-a-budding-morrow-in-midnight/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [Every budding actor should constantly focus on acquiring his/her skills rather than getting disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shehnaaz-gill/every-budding-actor-should-constantly-focus-on-acquiring-his-her/) [Shehnaaz Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shehnaaz-gill/) ## 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 All things quotes > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [To explicate the uses of the Brain seems as difficult a task as to paint the Soul, of which it is commonly said, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-willis/to-explicate-the-uses-of-the-brain-seems-as-difficult-a-task-as-to/) [Thomas Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-willis/) > [A tree is a self: it is 'unseen shaping' more than it is leaves or bark, roots or cellulose or fruit ... What this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-swimme/a-tree-is-a-self-it-is-unseen-shaping-more-than-it-is-leaves-or-bark/) [Brian Swimme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-swimme/) > [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [Moderation, honey, in all things but love and chocolate. That's my motto.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-bretton/moderation-honey-in-all-things-but-love-and-chocolate-that-s-my-motto/) [Barbara Bretton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-bretton/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) [James Nayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nayler/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Time, which wears down and diminishes all things, augments and increases good deeds, because a good turn liberally offered to a reasonable man grows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-rabelais/time-which-wears-down-and-diminishes-all-things-augments-and/) [Francois Rabelais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-rabelais/) > [Standing as a witness in all things means being kind in all things, being the first to say hello, being the first to smile,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-d-nadauld/standing-as-a-witness-in-all-things-means-being-kind-in-all-things/) [Margaret D. 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The universal Cause, by knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-dionysius/god-does-not-possess-a-private-knowledge-of-himself-and-a-separate/) [Pope Dionysius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-dionysius/) [Browse all 2,486 All things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/all-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The beginnings of all things are weak and tender. 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