Michel de Montaigne - The Complete Essays

By Michel de Montaigne

Michel de Montaigne was one of the most influential figures of the Renaissance, singlehandedly responsible for popularising the essay as a literary form.

In 1572, Montaigne retired to his estates in order to devote himself to leisure, reading and reflection. There he wrote his constantly expanding 'essays', inspired by the ideas he found in books from his library and his own experience.

He discusses subjects as diverse as war-horses and cannibals, poetry and politics, sex and religion, love and friendship, ecstasy and experience. Above all, Montaigne studied himself to find his own inner nature and that of humanity. The Essays are among the most idiosyncratic and personal works in all literature. An insight into a wise Renaissance mind, they continue to engage, enlighten and entertain modern readers.

Born in 1533, Michel de 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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JA
• Release date: May 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9782291026297

Michel de Montaigne

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) was a French philosopher, essayist, and statesman. Born in Aquitaine at the Château de Montaigne, he was raised in a wealthy and powerful family with Spanish, Portuguese, and Sephardic Jewish ancestry. Educated by tutors from his father’s humanist circle, he went on to study under Latin scholar George Buchanan at the College of Guienne in Bordeaux. After completing a law degree, he was appointed counselor of the Parlement in Bordeaux and from 1561 to 1563 served as a courtier to Charles IX. After retiring from public life in 1871, he began working on his celebrated Essais (1580). Believed to be inspired by the loss of his dear friend Étienne de La Boétie, a prominent humanist and poet of the French Renaissance, the Essais contain Montaigne’s reflections on literature, the classics, philosophy, human nature, and selfhood. Considered a landmark work of pre-Enlightenment French philosophy, Montaigne’s magnum opus both popularized the essay as a literary form and influenced a wide range of Western thinkers, including William Shakespeare, René Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and Friedrich Nietzsche.

Reviews for Michel de Montaigne - The Complete Essays

[therebelprince · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very high four stars, only let down by the fact that this is a monstrous tome and that some of the essays are far less inspired than others. Some of Montaigne's "discoveries" are such a part of our existence now that they seem mundane, which just goes to show the wit and wisdom of his mind.

[jasoncomely-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Expert of oneself becomes expert of life.

[isatyajeet · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Montaigne is regarded as one of the greatest writers of the Western tradition because of his profound understanding of human nature. Reportedly, Shakespeare read and drew on Montaigne's insights. When we think of "Essays" today, it is fortunate to be able to read a biography of the creator of this writing form.

[saibancho · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's by my bed on the bedside cabinet. that should indicate to all of you how much of a loved vade mecum this work is. Unparalled.

[westwest-3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is I book that I should have read decades ago, but was a little spooked by its length. It was a mistake to wait, as it usually is. Like when you're reading Balthasar Gracian, you feel stoic wisdom jumping out of every page. It was truly a great primer in classical education. This experience taught me that I should not be scared of War and Peace, Remembrance of Things Past, Paideia and Les Miserables that still are in my reading list.