Product Description

To overcome a crisis of melancholy after the death of his father, Montaigne withdrew to his country estates and began to write, and in the highly original essays that resulted he discussed themes such as fathers and children, conscience and cowardice, coaches and cannibals, and, above all, himself. "On Some Lines of Virgil" opens out into a frank discussion of sexuality and makes a revolutionary case for the equality of the sexes. In "On Experience" he superbly propounds his thoughts on the right way to live, while other essays touch on issues of an age struggling with religious and intellectual strife, with France torn apart by civil war. These diverse subjects are united by Montaigne's distinctive voice - that of a tolerant man, sceptical, humane, often humorous and utterly honest in his pursuit of the truth.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #168551 in Books
• Published on: 1994-05-03
• Original language: French
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

About the Author
Born in 1533, Montaigne studied law and spent a number of years working as a counsellor before devoting his life to reading, writing and reflection. He died in 1586. Dr M.A. Screech is regarded as the world's greatest authority on Montaigne.

Customer Reviews

Five Stars for Montaigne, One for Screech
Over the years I have kept a copy of the Essays by my favorite reading chair to be enjoyed at random, particularly in the middle of the night when Entropy seems to hold the upper hand. They exercise a remarkable calming effect.

Seduced by the idea of having a complete set of all the Essays, I initially opted for the complete Screech translation, but found it wooden and pedantic. I moved to the Cohen translation, which does not include all of the Essays, but has all of the major ones and is far more enjoyable.

Wherever we read we meet the man
Montaigne goes on his adventures of mind, and explores worlds seemingly far from his own , and yet always somehow leads us back to himself. His digressions and his ramblings in thought mark a new stage of discovery in the human mind's quest to know and understand itself. Like his great contemporary Shakespeare he belongs to an old world dying, and a new world not yet quite born which he in straddling makes anew.
Whatever the subject he opens up for those who come after a new way of thinking and exploring.

Pleasurable read
Montaigne was neither master of Science or Art, nor was he accomplished in Religeon or Politics in such a way as to be renowned through the ages. Though hardly a commoner by class, and well educated, he was essentially Joe Blow 16th century, writing not for Academic applause or controversy, but because it gave him pleasure and release (his works were, however, well received by many all over Europe). He was a philosopher as Schopenhauer defined it: examining the world around him as he saw it and defining it in relation to himself and how he acts within it, not preaching unattainable fancies that he does not live himself. Unwittingly (perhaps) Existential, this book shows that human nature is not what changes throughout the centuries - Montaignes observations of the world not being as alien as one would think 400 years ago plus would be. This book is an insight to the mind and world of a man in the renaissance, not a renaissance man. Well worth the read.