Adams, John -- Letter (1776-04-16) to Mercy Otis Warren

Dave — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 22:49:29 +0000

Every Man must seriously set himself to root out his Passions, Prejudices and Attachments, and to get the better of his private Interest. The only reputable Principle and Doctrine must be that all Things must give Way to the public.

John Adams (1735–1826) American lawyer, Founding Father, statesman, US President (1797–1801)
Letter (1776-04-16) to Mercy Otis Warren
(Source)

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 1, ch. 38 (1.38), “Of Solitude [De la solitude]” (1572) [tr. Frame (1943), 1.39]

Dave — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 20:04:31 +0000

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.

[La plus grande chose du monde c’est de sçavoir estre à soy.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 1, ch. 38 (1.38), “Of Solitude [De la solitude]” (1572) [tr. Frame (1943), 1.39]
(Source)

Present in the 1st (1580) edition.

Some translators use the 1588 sequence of chapters, not the 1595, and so identify this as ch. 39.

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

The greatest thing of the world, is for a man to know how to be his owne.
[tr. Florio (1603)]

The greatest thing in the world is for a person to know that he is his own master.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

The greatest thing in the world is for a man to know that he is his own.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.
[tr. Ives (1925), 1.39]

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to be oneself.
[ed. Rat (1958), 1.39]

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to live to yourself
[tr. Screech (1987)]

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.
[tr. Atkinson/Sices (2012)]

WIST Quotations

Adams, John -- Letter (1776-04-16) to Mercy Otis Warren

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 1, ch. 38 (1.38), “Of Solitude [De la solitude]” (1572) [tr. Frame (1943), 1.39]