Michel de Montaigne

(28 February 1533 - 13 September 1592)

Kings and philosophers shit: and so do ladies.1

Michel de Montaigne [Essays III, 13. On experience]

  1. “Les Roys et les philosophes fientent, et les dames aussi.” The original French statement is more direct and earthy than some of the English translations suggest. “Fientent” is quite blunt - it means to defecate or excrete waste. Montaigne’s French maintains that characteristic directness and earthiness that made his writing so distinctive and humanistic. [Garen & Anthropic Claude] ↩