--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a plague on Man, the opinion…" description: "\"There is a plague on Man, the opinion that he knows something.\" — Michel de Montaigne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/michel-de-montaigne-142_knows_there-is-a-plague-on-man-the-opinion-tha_3177573.jpg" --- # There is a plague on Man, the opinion that he knows… ![“There is a plague on Man, the opinion that he knows something.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/michel-de-montaigne-142_knows_there-is-a-plague-on-man-the-opinion-tha_3177573.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/michel-de-montaigne-142_knows_there-is-a-plague-on-man-the-opinion-tha_3177573.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/michel-de-montaigne-142_knows_there-is-a-plague-on-man-the-opinion-tha_3177573.jpg) > “There is a plague on Man, the opinion that he knows something.” [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. He critiques humanity’s overconfidence in claiming knowledge, suggesting it’s a flaw. **In simple terms:** People often think they know more than they do. Key Takeaway Question assumptions and stay humble. Themes humility knowledge skepticism Mood skeptical thoughtful Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - academic debate - daily decision making - leadership - teaching Key Concepts epistemology human nature Questions to Reflect On - Do you assume you know something without evidence? - When is confidence useful? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can motivate action despite its risks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Man Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-opinion-920529/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Opinion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion/) [Opinion Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opinion-knows-1182131/) [Plague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plague/) [Plague Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plague-man-2145495/) ## Related quotes > [The plague of man is boasting of his knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plague-of-man-is-boasting-of-his-knowledge/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Every man must have the right fearlessly to think independently and express his opinion about what he knows, what he has personally thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/every-man-must-have-the-right-fearlessly-to-think-independently-and/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [“Fear was the worst evil ever to plague a man, for with it came hesitation and with that, inaction, failure, death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-mcphail/fear-was-the-worst-evil-ever-to-plague-a-man-for-with-it-came/) [Melissa McPhail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-mcphail/) > [The plague of man is the opinion of knowledge. That is why ignorance is so recommended by our religion as a quality suitable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plague-of-man-is-the-opinion-of-knowledge-that-is-why-ignorance/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Ambition sufficiently plagues her proselytes, by keeping themselves always in show, like the statue of a public place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/ambition-sufficiently-plagues-her-proselytes-by-keeping-themselves/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I have always strenuously supported the right of every man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/i-have-always-strenuously-supported-the-right-of-every-man-to-his-own/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [A man's opinion is in others; his being is in himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hall/a-man-s-opinion-is-in-others-his-being-is-in-himself/) [Joseph Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hall/) > [An unmarried man, in my opinion, enjoys only half a life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/an-unmarried-man-in-my-opinion-enjoys-only-half-a-life/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [Respect for another man's opinion is worthy. It is the realization that any opinion is valuable, for it is the sign of a rational…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sargent-shriver/respect-for-another-man-s-opinion-is-worthy-it-is-the-realization/) [Sargent Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sargent-shriver/) > [I am no more annoyed when I think of the expression, than I should be annoyed by a man's opinion of a picture of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-am-no-more-annoyed-when-i-think-of-the-expression-than-i-should-be/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [Conscience is a judge in every man's breast, which none can cheat or corrupt, and perhaps the only incorrupt thing about him; yet, inflexible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/conscience-is-a-judge-in-every-man-s-breast-which-none-can-cheat-or/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) > [The superiority of one man's opinion over another's is never so great as when the opinion is about a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/the-superiority-of-one-man-s-opinion-over-another-s-is-never-so-great/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) > [A man's opinion of danger varies at different times, in consequence of an irregular tide of animal spirits; and he is actuated by considerations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/a-man-s-opinion-of-danger-varies-at-different-times-in-consequence-of/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [Opinions are like belly buttons; everybody has one. I never knock a man for his opinion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/opinions-are-like-belly-buttons-everybody-has-one-i-never-knock-a-man/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [Even dress is apt to inflame a man's opinion of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-home-lord-kames/even-dress-is-apt-to-inflame-a-man-s-opinion-of-himself/) [Henry Home, Lord Kames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-home-lord-kames/) ## 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 Knows quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [You've touched people and known it. You've touched people and never may know it. Either way, you have something to give. It is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-schlessinger/you-ve-touched-people-and-known-it-you-ve-touched-people-and-never/) [Laura Schlessinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-schlessinger/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) > [He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-who-knows-does-not-speak-he-who-speaks-does-not-know/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) [Browse all 53,133 Knows quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There is a plague on Man, the opinion that he knows something.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-is-a-plague-on-man-the-opinion-that-he-knows-something/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Knows" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-is-a-plague-on-man-the-opinion-that-he-knows-something/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/michel-de-montaigne-142_knows_there-is-a-plague-on-man-the-opinion-tha_3177573.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/michel-de-montaigne-142_knows_there-is-a-plague-on-man-the-opinion-tha_3177573.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/88f/michel-de-montaigne-142_knows_there-is-a-plague-on-man-the-opinion-tha_3177573.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There is a plague on Man, the opinion that he knows something.” — 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": "There is a plague on Man,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-is-a-plague-on-man-the-opinion-that-he-knows-something/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-is-a-plague-on-man-the-opinion-that-he-knows-something/#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 } } ] } ```