--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We only labor to stuff the memory, and…" description: "\"We only labor to stuff the memory, and leave the conscience and the understanding unfurnished and void.\" — Michel de Montaigne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/michel-de-montaigne-142_conscience_we-only-labor-to-stuff-the-memory-and-le_2339806.jpg" --- # We only labor to stuff the memory, and leave the… ![“We only labor to stuff the memory, and leave the conscience and the understanding unfurnished and void.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/michel-de-montaigne-142_conscience_we-only-labor-to-stuff-the-memory-and-le_2339806.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/michel-de-montaigne-142_conscience_we-only-labor-to-stuff-the-memory-and-le_2339806.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/michel-de-montaigne-142_conscience_we-only-labor-to-stuff-the-memory-and-le_2339806.jpg) > “We only labor to stuff the memory, and leave the conscience and the understanding unfurnished and void.” [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. Critiques focusing solely on factual knowledge while neglecting moral and understanding development **In simple terms:** Knowledge without conscience is empty Key Takeaway Cultivate both intellect and moral insight Themes education morality knowledge Mood philosophical critical Type essay philosophical When to use this quote - schooling - personal growth - policy making Key Concepts Ethics human development Questions to Reflect On - How can education balance facts with moral development? - What role does conscience play in learning? A Different Perspective May undervalue practical skills ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Leave Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave-conscience-5658809/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Memory Leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-leave-1146977/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Stuff Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff-memory-3059785/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Unfurnished Void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfurnished-void-5658808/) [Void](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/void/) ## Related quotes > [Attention is the stuff that memory is made of, and memory is accumulated genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-russell-lowell/attention-is-the-stuff-that-memory-is-made-of-and-memory-is/) [James Russell Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-russell-lowell/) > [I have never taken a job or done a job where I felt I needed to leave my conscience at the door. One of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deval-patrick/i-have-never-taken-a-job-or-done-a-job-where-i-felt-i-needed-to-leave/) [Deval Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deval-patrick/) > [When my time comes forget the wrong that I've done, help me leave behind some reasons to be missed. And don't resent me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linkin-park/when-my-time-comes-forget-the-wrong-that-i-ve-done-help-me-leave-2/) [Linkin Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linkin-park/) > [For my name and memory, I leave it to men's charitable speeches, to foreign nations, and to the next ages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon-sr/for-my-name-and-memory-i-leave-it-to-men-s-charitable-speeches-to/) [Francis Bacon Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon-sr/) > [For my name and memory I leave to men's charitable speeches, and to foreign nations and the next ages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/for-my-name-and-memory-i-leave-to-men-s-charitable-speeches-and-to/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [When you're feeling empty keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-re-feeling-empty-keep-me-in-your-memory-leave-out-all-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed. Don't resent me and when you're feeling empty, keep me in your memory. Leave out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/help-me-leave-behind-some-reasons-to-be-missed-don-t-resent-me-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“And when you're feeling empty, keep me memory, and leave out all the rest, leave out all the rest”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linkin-park/and-when-you-re-feeling-empty-keep-me-memory-and-leave-out-all-the/) [Linkin Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linkin-park/) > [Aesop, that great man, saw his master making water as he walked. "What!" he said, "Must we void ourselves as we run?" Use our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/aesop-that-great-man-saw-his-master-making-water-as-he-walked-what-he/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Health is a precious thing, and the only one, in truth, meriting that a man should lay out not only his time, sweat, labor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/health-is-a-precious-thing-and-the-only-one-in-truth-meriting-that-a/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Early on a difficult climb, especially a solo climb, you’re hyper-aware of the abyss pulling at your back, constantly feeling its call, its immense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-krakauer/early-on-a-difficult-climb-especially-a-solo-climb-you-re-hyper-aware/) [Jon Krakauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-krakauer/) > [“Then from those profound slumbers we awake in a dawn, not knowing who we are, being nobody, newly born, ready for anything, the brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/then-from-those-profound-slumbers-we-awake-in-a-dawn-not-knowing-who/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [My God, whose son, as on this night, took on Him the form of man, and for man vouchsafed to suffer and bleed, controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/my-god-whose-son-as-on-this-night-took-on-him-the-form-of-man-and-for/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends hit him where he does not expect you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/go-into-emptiness-strike-voids-bypass-what-he-defends-hit-him-where/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) ## 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 Conscience quotes > [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/) [Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/) > [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/) [Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/) [Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/) > [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/) [Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/) > [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/) [Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/) > [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/) [John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/) > [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/) [Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/) > [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another ones right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-ones-belief-but-it/) [Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/) > [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [I've worked with people who are much further to the left than I am and much further to the right than I am. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/i-ve-worked-with-people-who-are-much-further-to-the-left-than-i-am/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/) [Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/) [Browse all 3,490 Conscience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We only labor to stuff the memory, and leave the conscience and the understanding unfurnished and void.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/we-only-labor-to-stuff-the-memory-and-leave-the-conscience-and-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Conscience" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/we-only-labor-to-stuff-the-memory-and-leave-the-conscience-and-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/michel-de-montaigne-142_conscience_we-only-labor-to-stuff-the-memory-and-le_2339806.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/michel-de-montaigne-142_conscience_we-only-labor-to-stuff-the-memory-and-le_2339806.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b4c/michel-de-montaigne-142_conscience_we-only-labor-to-stuff-the-memory-and-le_2339806.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We only labor to stuff the memory, and leave the conscience and the understanding unfurnished and void.” — 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": "We only labor to stuff the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/we-only-labor-to-stuff-the-memory-and-leave-the-conscience-and-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/we-only-labor-to-stuff-the-memory-and-leave-the-conscience-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 } } ] } ```