God wishes us to learn that the good have other things to hope for and the wicked other things to fear than the chances and mischances of this world, which His hands control according to His hidden purposes. And so, He takes from us the means of foolishly exploiting them. Those who desire to draw advantage from them by human reason delude themselves. For every hit which they make, they suffer two in return. St. Augustine amply proved that against his opponents: the arms which decide that wrangle are not those of reason, but of memory.
From: “Judgements on God’s Ordinances Must Be Embarked Upon with Prudence” (Book 1, Essay No. 32) in The Essays of Michel de Montaigne by Michel de Montaigne; translated from the French, edited, and with an introduction by M. A. Screech (New York: Alan Lane/The Penguin Press, 1991), pp. 243-244.
Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne (1533-1592) was, by turns, a magistrate, a diplomat, a soldier, and a politician. He is considered to be the father of the modern literary essay. He began writing his essays, most of which were published during his lifetime, after his retirement from public life.
