What does this quote mean?

“’Tis my opinion that a man should lend himself to others, and only give himself to himself.”

Montaigne distinguishes participating in other people’s affairs from surrendering one’s whole inward life to them: engagement can be generous without allowing every external demand to possess the will.

Source note: Essays, Book III, Chapter X, “Of Managing the Will,” Charles Cotton translation; Project Gutenberg Complete Essays #3600, with the chapter also preserved in Gutenberg volume #3598. Montaigne is describing his personal method of limiting how strongly public affairs and external attachments possess him, not issuing a universal therapy rule.

“Angry people are not always wise.”

Strong emotion can narrow judgment, so being certain while angry is not the same as being correct.

Source note: Pride and Prejudice; the line is preserved in the novel’s dialogue about anger, judgment, and the limits of certainty while emotions are high.

“Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.”

Speed without judgment can undermine the very goal a person is pursuing, so patience becomes part of effective action.

Source note: Act 2, Scene 3; Friar Laurence urges Romeo to move with greater care.

“Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.”

The proverb uses the ant as an example of self-directed preparation, turning observation of repeated practical behavior into a lesson about disciplined habits.

Source note: Proverbs 6:6 in the King James Version; the following verses describe the ant preparing food without an overseer.

“For of course rashness is the note of youth, prudence of old age.”

The contrast assigns different characteristic strengths to stages of life, valuing experience for the restraint and judgment it can develop.

Source note: Cato on Old Age, Shuckburgh translation.

“When angry, count ten, before you speak; if very angry, an hundred.”

Jefferson’s practical rule inserts a deliberate delay between anger and speech, giving judgment time to return before emotion becomes an irreversible response.

Source note: Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Jefferson Smith, February 21, 1825, Founders Online / National Archives. The sentence is item 10 in a short list of “canons of conduct” sent to his namesake relative; the archive currently labels the transcription an Early Access document rather than a final authoritative edition.