Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 1, ch. 8 (1.8), “Of Idleness [De l’Oisiveté]” (1572) [tr. Ives (1925)]

Dave — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 23:48:16 +0000

The mind that has no fixed goal loses itself; for as they say, to be everywhere is to be nowhere.

[L’âme qui n’a point de but établi, elle se perd: car comme on dit, c;est n’ètre en aucun lieu que d’être partout.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 1, ch. 8 (1.8), “Of Idleness [De l’Oisiveté]” (1572) [tr. Ives (1925)]
(Source)

This essay appeared in the 1st ed. (1580), and was modified in each of the following.

The proverb referenced is from Martial (ep. 7.73); it was paraphrased as indicated in the 1st ed., and then the actual Latin quotation ("Quisquis ubique habitat, Maxime, nusquam habitat") was added in the 2nd ed. (1588).

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

The minde that hath no fixed bound, will easilie loose it selfe: For, as wee say, To be everie where, is to be no where.
[tr. Florio (1603)]

The Soul that has no establish’d Limit to circumscribe it, loses it self, as the Epigrammist says, He that lives every where, does no where live.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

The soul that has no established aim loses itself, for, as it is said -- "Quisquis ubique habitat, Maxime, nusquam habitat."
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

The soul that has no established limits to circumscribe itself, loses itself. As the epigrammatist says, "He that is everywhere is nowhere."
[tr. Rector (1899)]

The soul that has no fixed goal loses itself; for as they say, to be everywhere is to be nowhere.
[tr. Frame (1943)]

When the soul is without a definite aim, she gets lost; for, as they say, if you are everywhere you are nowhere.
[tr. Screech (1987)]

The mind that has no fixed aim loses itelf, for, as they say, to be everywhere is to be nowhere.
[tr. Cohen (1993)]

A soul with no fixed goal is sure to lose its way for, as they say, to be everywhere is to be nowhere.
[tr. HyperEssays (2023)]

WIST Quotations

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 1, ch. 8 (1.8), “Of Idleness [De l’Oisiveté]” (1572) [tr. Ives (1925)]