Michel de Montaigne

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.

The Complete Essays

Reflections by the creator of the essay form display the humane, skeptical, humorous, and honest views of Montaigne, revealing his thoughts on sexuality, religion, cannibals, intellectuals, and other unexpected themes. Included are such celebrated works as "On Solitude," "To Philosophize Is to Learn How to Die," and "On Experience."

Essays

Sam Cao

It is very foolish to stifle one's own brilliance in order to shine with a borrowed light.

De la vanité

Anna Koempel

Felt like reading someone’s unfiltered inner world - honest, messy, and deeply human. One of the best books I’ve read; it reignited my love for reading.

Tanishq Khandelwal

Reyna 

I only read book 1 for school. It was alright. There were moments when I was like "Wow! So true!" and moments when I wasn't understanding anything and couldn't find a consistant thought that I could try to analyze and either agree or disagree. Therefore: 2 stars.

Taken together, this selection of essays forms an exquisitely drawn portrait that depicts the strength and warmth of Montaigne's personality. And, as J.M. Cohen observes in his introduction, 'One sees, as one reads him, how broad his mind was, and how many of the ideas of the next two centuries he grasped by anticipation.'

Bad Girl Bex

Think of this book, not as something you 'ought to read', because of its historical and literary importance in heralding the birth of the essay, as an art form; consider it a delightfully charming insight into the musings, curiosities and experiences of a man, who around 500 years ago, put pen to paper, in order to organise and examine, his thoughts and feelings about everything that intrigues him about mankind and the world around him.

This book is completely readable and thoroughly accessible - to the point where, after having become acquainted with the author and his idiosyncratic ways, one can often be found wondering #WhatWouldMontaineDo, at moments when the absurdity of life requires some timeless perspective and reflection. 

This is the man wrote an entire essay on cannibalism, refusing to see the tribe in question, as any more or less savage than we so called civilised people in Europe...before dashing all of his previously well thought out seriousness to pieces, with a final flourish of hilarity decrying all prior suggestions of these cannibal warrior tribesmen as noble or civilised, with a damning exclamation that "after all...they do not wear britches!"

So eating fellow humans can be rationalised, nay forgiven even; but what sort of men don't partake in the wearing of trousers, right? Bloody weirdos!

Buy this book and carry it around with you, to dip into whenever you've got 15 minutes to kill. Leave the looking up of external references made here and there, for when you get home. Just enjoy the brief glimpses of a 16th century potential shitlord, who will often make you laugh, but will mostly make you think.*

*Unless of course you're a feminist, because you'll just scream 'Patriarchy' and lose your mind every time he mentions chicks & broads. Lol.

The Complete Essays

Reviews

Highlights