--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To smell, though well, is to stink." description: "\"To smell, though well, is to stink.\" — Michel de Montaigne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/michel-de-montaigne-142_perfume_to-smell-though-well-is-to-stink-1581632_1581632.jpg" --- # To smell, though well, is to stink. ![“To smell, though well, is to stink.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/michel-de-montaigne-142_perfume_to-smell-though-well-is-to-stink-1581632_1581632.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/michel-de-montaigne-142_perfume_to-smell-though-well-is-to-stink-1581632_1581632.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42f/michel-de-montaigne-142_perfume_to-smell-though-well-is-to-stink-1581632_1581632.jpg) > “To smell, though well, is to stink.” [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. Even a pleasant scent can be offensive if perceived incorrectly. **In simple terms:** Smell good can still be stinky. Key Takeaway Beware of misinterpretation of intentions. Themes perception communication humor Mood witty philosophical Type literary thought‑provoking When to use this quote - public speaking - personal branding - interpersonal conflict Key Concepts subjective experience social interaction Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure your intentions are understood? - When can good intentions backfire? A Different Perspective Context determines reception of actions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Perfume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfume/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Smell Stink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell-stink-3231050/) [Stink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stink/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [That the young rich smell the stink of the poor and learn to find it a bit amusing. They had to laugh, otherwise it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/that-the-young-rich-smell-the-stink-of-the-poor-and-learn-to-find-it/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [No matter which perfume you use, if your character stinks, you stink too!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/no-matter-which-perfume-you-use-if-your-character-stinks-you-stink-too/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I emitted some civetlike female stink, a distinct perfume of sexual wanting, that he had followed to find me here in the dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/i-emitted-some-civetlike-female-stink-a-distinct-perfume-of-sexual/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [...and every Wednesday the perfumed young lady slips me a hundred-crown note to leave her alone with the convict. And by Thursday the hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-every-wednesday-the-perfumed-young-lady-slips-me-a-hundred-crown/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“For, in the same fire, gold gleams and straw smokes; under the same flail the stalk is crushed and the grain threshed; the lees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustine-of-hippo/for-in-the-same-fire-gold-gleams-and-straw-smokes-under-the-same/) [Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustine-of-hippo/) > [What's that smell?" I froze. What? Did I really smell so distasteful he had only to lean in my direction to catch a putrid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/what-s-that-smell-i-froze-what-did-i-really-smell-so-distasteful-he/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [“the creature belched a cloud of stink, the smell like rotting meat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-s-kemp/the-creature-belched-a-cloud-of-stink-the-smell-like-rotting-meat/) [Paul S. Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-s-kemp/) > [I know sage, wormwood, and hyssop, but I can't smell character unless it stinks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-dahlberg/i-know-sage-wormwood-and-hyssop-but-i-can-t-smell-character-unless-it/) [Edward Dahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-dahlberg/) > [Art thou angry with him whose armpits stink? Art thou angry with him whose mouth smells foul?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/art-thou-angry-with-him-whose-armpits-stink-art-thou-angry-with-him/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [“He'd gone from sixteen to seventy-five in a matter of seconds, but the old-man smell happened instantly, like boom. Congratulations! You stink!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/he-d-gone-from-sixteen-to-seventy-five-in-a-matter-of-seconds-but-the/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Growing up I never had a perfume. I was like oh, one day when I'm grownup and have money I'm going to wear perfume.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-robbie/growing-up-i-never-had-a-perfume-i-was-like-oh-one-day-when-i-m/) [Margot Robbie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-robbie/) > [Granny Ditto always referred to perfume as 'smell good' and for me it's an essential. 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Le Sirenuse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alana-haim/i-always-gravitate-to-perfume-with-rose-my-mom-s-maiden-name-is-rose/) [Alana Haim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alana-haim/) ## 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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Put his favorite perfume on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lana-del-rey/i-say-you-the-bestest-lean-in-for-a-big-kiss-put-his-favorite-perfume/) [Lana Del Rey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lana-del-rey/) > [“The scent of book leather and lemons enveloped him, and his head went light. Books and clean woman. Had God ever divined a more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-callihan/the-scent-of-book-leather-and-lemons-enveloped-him-and-his-head-went/) [Kristen Callihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-callihan/) > [When I eat cilantro, it's like someone sprayed perfume down my throat. It closes up my throat, even if there's only a little piece.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-rose/when-i-eat-cilantro-it-s-like-someone-sprayed-perfume-down-my-throat/) [Amber Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-rose/) > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. 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