Quotes - A Magnificent Obsession

Anyone reading my blog will know that I have a particular passion for quotes. Having been an avid reader since a little girl, when I was encouraged to appreciate the beauty and value of words, I have been inspired by such words of wisdom and experience.


I blame my unashamed 'magnificent obsession' with quotes on Sir. Winston Churchill. For one of the quotes my Papa would frequently say to me was one of Winston Churchill's, who he happened to greatly admired. 


It was  'It is a good thing for an educated man to read books of quotations.' 


As an impressionable and over-imaginative only child beginning to blossom into a budding writer, I took this quote to heart. It became a mantra for me and in no time I was totally addicted to quotes from a huge range of sources and by a diverse range of wise men and women throughout the world.


I am also a confirmed addict when it comes to collecting little books of quotes, inspiring words and poetry. My resource library is large and although I try desperately to stop from buying yet another 'little book' I fear I am beyond help! My Lions Club hold an annual Book Fair and sorting the books doesn't help at all as either my fellow members say, "Wanda, this is just the book for you - it's perfect for your work as a celebrant!"  or I pick up a book only to see that I am holding a wee gem of a quote book - and of course, I just have to have it!


Mind you, I know many people can't abide the use of quotes. I believe it was American author, Howard Kandel who said, "He who trains his tongue to quote the learned sages, will be known far and wide as a smart ass." I can live with that anyway he obviously thinks that it's only men who are such smart asses so you women out there - we can quotes ourselves silly!


Seriously though, when creating a ceremony there are often times when a poem, a reading or a quote encapsulate what needs to be expressed so perfectly so what is wrong with recycling the words of the wise from times past or today? When it comes down to it, surely there is nothing that hasn't already been said by someone down through the ages somewhere in the world?


One of the most magical moments of my life was when my youngest son, Kent, who was living in France at the time, took me to the castle (and birthplace) of Michel de Montaigne,  a 16th century French author, philosopher and former Mayor of Bordeaux, whose essays are considered the best ever written and are a model for this form of writing. 


Michel de Montaigne is one of my favourite writers and I often use his quotes in ceremonies, so to walk the steps he walked up and down, to be in the small chapel where he worshiped in and stand in the rooms .where he wrote his essays was like stepping back in time. It was a mystical experience and I was lucky enough to visit his castle twice during my visits to see my son over the years,


Montaigne was a man ahead of his time - more a man for today as many of his quotes attest - 
'Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.' - 'Fame and tranquility can never be bedfellows.' 

He also obviously had a wry sense of humour - 'A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband.' and 'Fortune, seeing that she could not make fools wise, has made them lucky.'

The castle of Michel de Montaigne

So as a self-proclaimed, unashamedly confessed quote-addict I know that there's no help for me but I'm happy with my addiction and when I leave this life I know that my children will have great joy in giving away all those little books of quotations to my friends who share my addiction, especially my celebrant friends.

I close today's blog with a quote by Montaigne that I hold dear - 'The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.'