Essays
Living at a time of religious strife and the decline of the intellectual optimism that had begun in the Renaissance, Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592) expressed in his writings both a deep skepticism about human affairs and a wide-ranging intellectual curiosity reflective of the age. His was not a systematic philosophy; rather, he wrote pieces that were attempts at knowledge-essays in understanding, or essais, as he called them in French. He thus inaugurated a new literary genre that...
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Living at a time of religious strife and the decline of the intellectual optimism that had begun in the Renaissance, Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1533-1592) expressed in his writings both a deep skepticism about human affairs and a wide-ranging intellectual curiosity reflective of the age. His was not a systematic philosophy; rather, he wrote pieces that were attempts at knowledge-essays in understanding, or essais, as he called them in French. He thus inaugurated a new literary genre that proved to be very influential. Despite his skepticism, Montaigne realized that the intellectual horizon of his day was full of exciting new developments. His essays reflect many interests, plus a refreshing honesty about the frailties of human nature. Montaigne writes about vanity, the value of friendship, "That to Study Philosophy Is to Learn to Die," and a host of other topics. Filled with insights and keen observations that have inspired later writers as diverse as William Shakespeare, Francis Bacon, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Gustave Flaubert, Virginia Woolf, and Roland Barthes, the Essays of Montaigne should be on the essential reading list of every student, scholar, and book lover.
Of his task and theme11Of pedantism19Of the institution and education of children; to the Lady Diana of Foix, Countess of Gurson35It is folly to refer truth or falsehood to our sufficiency85Of friendship91Of solitariness109Of the inequality that is between us125Of the inconstancy of our actions137Of drunkenness147Of books159Of cruelty177We taste nothing purely193Of anger and choler199Of profit and honesty209Of repenting223Of three commerces or societies241How one ought to govern his will257
