Essays

I buy lots of used books from good to very good condition and this is saddest sample ever. Full of wear, underlines and scribblings. Moreover it's not the same book cover as promoted originally, feel cheated and tricked. Quite disappointed!

"My library is in the third story of a tower; on the first is my chapel, on the second a bedroom with ante-chambers, where I often lie to be alone; and above it there is a great wardrobe...Adjoining my library is a very neat little room, in which a fire can be laid in winter, and which is pleasantly lighted by a window." Montaigne, On Three Kinds of Relationships From the start, Montaigne (1533-1592) shows his great love of writing about life and his ultimate pleasure: exercising his mind through the discussion of philosophy. He also loved to point out incongruity and excelled in making logical conclusions. His honesty seems to be his most attractive quality as he addresses the horror and beauty of life. At times he seems to almost be a reporter describing experience, detached and unemotional. Then when he delves into friendship he shows a new depth of emotion. "There is no action or thought of mine in which I do not miss him, as he would have missed me. For just as he infinitely surpassed me in every other talent and virtue, so did he also in the duties of friendship." ~Montaigne, On Friendship Montaigne's writing is at times a history lesson. He draws from the writings of Ovid, Cicero, Horace, Socrates, Plato, Seneca, Virgil and Petrarch. His topics are fascinating and get even more interesting when he talks about the custom of wearing clothes, the Platonic paradox or why churches use incense. He explores the power of the imagination, truth and error, friendship, why civilized man is at times no better than a savage in his actions and freely discusses his ideas about education. I must say that when he discusses books, this topic overflows and ends up in other essays. So, while the chapter on books may seem short, you will still find some excellent quotes later on while reading about the three kinds of relationships or "On Physiognomy," which seems to be more about the plague and death being inevitable and how philosophers contemplate death as a life-long exercise. I learned a great deal about Socrates and how the Athenians felt when he died and that swans sing when they die. It all seems unrelated, but somehow Montaigne casually introduces topic after topic with great intellectual flair. Finally we happen upon his survival when captured by a band of horsemen. Then, we understand why he has titled this chapter "Physiognomy," because he is saved by the kind look on his face and his firmness of speech. We also learn about his beautiful library. Later he discusses topics of interest like how Emperors built huge arenas that could be filled with deep water filled with sea monsters. These topics all seem related to his love of research. While he discusses history at length and loves to add in quotes, he is also a keen observer of human nature. He sees life so clearly and freely says what most people fear will offend. Like that when we find a fault in other people, it might be a fault in our character or how strong we have to be to han

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 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.

Montaigne wrote what he called "essays", in the sense of "attempts" - he was trying to find out what he thought about stuff. It helped that he'd read a great deal, led a pretty full life and had known some interesting people, although one of his great virtues is that he seems to have found them more interesting than they themselves probably thought they were. Pascal struggled all his life with the example of Montaigne. The problem for Pascal was that he was only really concerned with one thing - God's grace - and he was scandalised that Montaigne didn't seem to find it that big a deal. MM will write as readily about theological disputes and poetry as he will about sex, forgetfulness and his own stupidity. Apart from anything else, he was perhaps the first person to observe that nobody can pretend that his s*** doesn't stink (I can't remember the exact page, but then there _are_ over a thousand.)There's a lifetime's reading in here. For such a big fat classic of a book it reads like it was written yesterday, although if it _had_ been written yesterday, he'd've been all over Hello! magazine by now. Wisdom is maybe underrated these days, but Montaigne isn't just spouting off. This is not a 16th century evening with Morrie. You can see him thinking. He _encourages_ you. (What a great word "encourage" is.) It's not that bad for about fourteen quid.

I disagree with those who find Montaigne to be great bedtime reading. Contentment is the wrong word to use to describe the feeling one gets upon really reading, really considering the Frenchman's line of thought. What could be more adverse to a good night's sleep than being slapped and provoked into ever-greater stages of mental alertness. This is the effect that these stimulating and brutally honest essays have on the would-be sleeper. Montaigne is especially aware of the general effect of epistemological investigations on those who pursue them. In the essay 'On Experience', Montaigne chides, "It is nothing but our personal weakness that makes us content with what others, or we ourselves, have discovered in this hunt for knowledge. It is a sign of failing powers or of weariness when the mind is content." (The search for reliable knowledge is the main theme of the Essays) It is understandable that someone might want to drift off to sleep to avoid the incessant chore of questing after ever further and more accurate knowledge; though I would even posit that this is a dangerous way to read good books, for it might establish in the sleeper an irreversible habit of veering away from doing the difficult thinking required by challenging situations that need to be confronted in the course of one's life.