Michel de Montaigne, “On Presumption,” from his Essays.
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I have this general characteristic too, that of all the opinions held by ancient writers of man in the mass, those that I most readily accept and most strongly adhere to are those which are most contemptuous, most vilifying, and most annihilating. Philosophy seems to me never to have so easy a game as when it is attacking our presumption and vanity, and when honestly admitting its own indecision, weakness, and arrogance. It is my opinion that the nurse and mother of the falsest opinions, both public and private, is the excessive opinion that man has of himself.
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