Montesquieu, My Thoughts (Mes Pensées), §52, tr. Henry C. Clark:
As soon as a man thinks and has a character, they say: “He’s a singular man.”
Most people resemble each other in that they do not think: eternal echos, who have never said anything but have always repeated; crude artisans of others’ ideas.
Singularity has to consist in a fine manner of thinking that has eluded others, for a man who can distinguish himself only by a special footwear would be a fool in any country.
The thoughts and actions of a singular man are so particular to him that another man could not employ them without betraying and diminishing himself.
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