“I do not speak the minds of others except to speak my own mind better.”
Je ne dis les autres, sinon pour d'autant plus me dire.
Book I, Ch. 26
Essais (1595), Book I
Variant: I quote others only in order the better to express myself.
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Michel De Montaigne264
(1533-1592) French-Occitan author, humanistic philosopher, … 1533–1592Related quotes
“I am in a position to speak my mind. And that is what I propose to do.”
Walter Cronkite (1916–2009) American broadcast journalist
UN Address (1999)
Context: For many years, I did my best to report on the issues of the day in as objective a manner as possible. When I had my own strong opinions, as I often did, I tried not to communicate them to my audience.
Now, however, my circumstances are different. I am in a position to speak my mind. And that is what I propose to do.
Those of us who are living today can influence the future of civilization. We can influence whether our planet will drift into chaos and violence, or whether through a monumental educational and political effort we will achieve a world of peace under a system of law where individual violators of that law are brought to justice.
Bob Dylan (1941) American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and artist
Letter sent to the ECLC after Dylan received the Tom Paine Award at the Bill of Rights dinner on December 13, 1963, as reported in "Mr. Dylan Regrets" http://www.hotpress.com/Bob-Dylan/music/interviews/Mr-Dylan-Regrets/2836632.html by Niall Stokes, Hot Press (11 November 2005)
“I speak my mind, because it hurts to bite my tongue”
Cornelius Keagon (1996) Liberian humanitarian aid worker
Jesse Ventura (1951) American politician and former professional wrestler
NBC's Meet The Press (3 October 1999) responding to criticism of his remarks in Playboy magazine.
Context: I speak my mind. If it offends some people, well, there's not much I can do about that. But I'm going to be honest. I'm going to continue to speak my mind, and that's who I am...
“When I cannot sing my heart, I can only speak my mind.”
John Lennon (1940–1980) English singer and songwriter
"Julia" (1968); these lines were adapted from lines of Sand and Foam (1926) by Khalil Gibran: "When life does not find a singer to sing her heart she produces a philosopher to speak her mind."
Lyrics
Šantidéva (685–763) 8th-century Indian Buddhist monk and scholar
§ 5.47
Bodhicaryavatara, A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life
