Michel de Montaigne Quotes
On the most exalted throne in the world, we are still seated on nothing but our arse.
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, 1533-1592, Mayor of Bordeaux, France, Philosopher & Writer, Essays
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
In the Middle East, counties have often made bad deals or embarked upon damaging policies in order to appear to be strong. In that part of the world there is a firm belief that showing any weakness at all will invite many different forces to go after you. Iran has this vision of Islamic world leadership and if they so not appear to be very strong and powerful to the Muslim world, their aspirations will have been for naught.
This is an amazing speech which illustrated the best of the development and growth of Islam. Note that: The ruler who has just been given ALL secular AND religious power admits candidly that he may not be the best qualified. This would not happen for over another 1000 years and even today is very rare in any society. In addition, he invites the citizens to correct him when he is wrong. Later, Calihs would, like the Christian kings and popes claim infallibiity and kill any who suggested otherwise. And daring to correct the ruler was capital offence for most of history and is even dangerous in some Muslim countries today. Last and perhaps most amazing, the new Caliph called for an affirmative leveling of the inequality of rights and power and announces it asa one of his major responsiblities. It is this kind of vision so unheard of at the time which shows us why so many flocked to Islam at the time. From a fairness, human rights, and accoutabiity of the ruler point of view Islam was the most modern of the religions then. Tragically, other forces shaped Islam for the next 1500 years and most Muslim countries become the least modern and its rulers are least accountable to the citizenry with none of the other rights and concept of fairness that Abu Bakr and other early Islamic leaders brought.
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, also known as Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance, known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. His work is noted for its merging of casual anecdotes and autobiography with intellectual insight. His massive volume Essais contains some of the most influential essays ever written.
