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288 MONTAIGNE'S ESSAYES
the better sute themselves unto common use, they
many times falsifie them. They will not make open
profession of ignorance, and of the imbecilitie of mans
reason, because they will not make children afraid, but
they manifestly declare the same unto us under the
shew of a troubled Science and unconstant learning.
I perswaded somebody in Italy, who laboured very
much to speak Italian, that alwayes provided he desired
but to be understood, and not to seek to excell others
therein, he should onely imploy and use such words as
came first to his mouth, whether they were Latine,
French, Spanish, or Gascoine, and that adding the
Italian terminations unto them, he should never misse
to fail upon some idiome of the countrie, either Tuscan,
Roman, Venetian, Piemontoise, or Neapolitan; and
amongst so many severall formes of speech to take hold
of one. The very same I say of Philosophy. She hath
so many faces and so much varietie, and hath said so
much, that all our drcames and devices are found in
her. The fantasie of man can conceive or imagine
nothing, be it good or evill, that is not to be found
in her: Nihil tarn absurde did potest, quod non dicatur
ab aliquo Philoaophorum:¹ ' Nothing may be spoken so
absurdly, but that it is spoken by some of the Philosophers.
' And therefore doe I suffer my humours or
caprices more freely to passe in publike; forasmuch as
though they are borne with, and of me, and without any
patterne, well I wot they will be found to have relation
to some ancient humour, and some shall be found that
will both know and tell whence and of whom I have
borrowed them. My customes are naturall; when I
contrived them, I called not for the helpe of any discipline
: and weake and faint as they were, when I have
had a desire to expresse them, and to make them appear
to the world a little more comely and decent, I have
somewhat endevoured to aid them with discourse, and
assist them with examples, I have wondred at my selfe
that by meere chance I have met with them, agreeing
and sutable to so many ancient examples and Philo-
1 CIC. Div. 1. ii.