What do you think?
Rate this book
Letters and Essays of Montaigne: Volume I
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance, known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. His work is noted for its merging of casual anecdotes and autobiography with serious intellectual insight; his massive volume Essais (translated literally as "Attempts" or "Trials") contains some of the most influential essays ever written. Montaigne had a direct influence on writers all over the world, including Francis Bacon, René Descartes, Blaise Pascal, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Albert Hirschman, William Hazlitt, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Friedrich Nietzsche, Stefan Zweig, Eric Hoffer, Isaac Asimov, and possibly on the later works of William Shakespeare.
In his own lifetime, Montaigne was admired more as a statesman than as an author. The tendency in his essays to digress into anecdotes and personal ruminations was seen as detrimental to proper style rather than as an innovation, and his declaration that, "I am myself the matter of my book", was viewed by his contemporaries as self-indulgent. In time, however, Montaigne would come to be recognized as embodying, perhaps better than any other author of his time, the spirit of freely entertaining doubt which began to emerge at that time. He is most famously known for his skeptical remark, "Que sçay-je?" ("What do I know?", in Middle French; now rendered as Que sais-je? in modern French). Remarkably modern even to readers today, Montaigne's attempt to examine the world through the lens of the only thing he can depend on implicitly—his own judgment—makes him more accessible to modern readers than any other author of the Renaissance. Much of modern literary non-fiction has found inspiration in Montaigne and writers of all kinds continue to read him for his masterful balance of intellectual knowledge and personal storytelling.
In his own lifetime, Montaigne was admired more as a statesman than as an author. The tendency in his essays to digress into anecdotes and personal ruminations was seen as detrimental to proper style rather than as an innovation, and his declaration that, "I am myself the matter of my book", was viewed by his contemporaries as self-indulgent. In time, however, Montaigne would come to be recognized as embodying, perhaps better than any other author of his time, the spirit of freely entertaining doubt which began to emerge at that time. He is most famously known for his skeptical remark, "Que sçay-je?" ("What do I know?", in Middle French; now rendered as Que sais-je? in modern French). Remarkably modern even to readers today, Montaigne's attempt to examine the world through the lens of the only thing he can depend on implicitly—his own judgment—makes him more accessible to modern readers than any other author of the Renaissance. Much of modern literary non-fiction has found inspiration in Montaigne and writers of all kinds continue to read him for his masterful balance of intellectual knowledge and personal storytelling.
486 pages, Paperback
Published May 22, 2016
1 person want to read
About the author
Michel de Montaigne
1,632 books1,570 followersMichel Eyquem de Montaigne (1532-1592) was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance. Montaigne is known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. He became famous for his effortless ability to merge serious intellectual speculation with casual anecdotes and autobiography—and his massive volume Essais (translated literally as "Attempts") contains, to this day, some of the most widely influential essays ever written. Montaigne had a direct influence on writers the world over, from William Shakespeare to René Descartes, from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Stephan Zweig, from Friedrich Nietzsche to Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He was a conservative and earnest Catholic but, as a result of his anti-dogmatic cast of mind, he is considered the father, alongside his contemporary and intimate friend Étienne de La Boétie, of the "anti-conformist" tradition in French literature.
In his own time, Montaigne was admired more as a statesman then as an author. The tendency in his essays to digress into anecdotes and personal ruminations was seen as detrimental to proper style rather than as an innovation, and his declaration that, "I am myself the matter of my book", was viewed by his contemporaries as self-indulgent. In time, however, Montaigne would be recognized as embodying, perhaps better than any other author of his time, the spirit of freely entertaining doubt which began to emerge at that time. He is most famously known for his skeptical remark, "Que sais-je?" ("What do I know?").
Remarkably modern even to readers today, Montaigne's attempt to examine the world through the lens of the only thing he can depend on implicitly—his own judgment—makes him more accessible to modern readers than any other author of the Renaissance. Much of modern literary nonfiction has found inspiration in Montaigne, and writers of all kinds continue to read him for his masterful balance of intellectual knowledge and personal storytelling.
In his own time, Montaigne was admired more as a statesman then as an author. The tendency in his essays to digress into anecdotes and personal ruminations was seen as detrimental to proper style rather than as an innovation, and his declaration that, "I am myself the matter of my book", was viewed by his contemporaries as self-indulgent. In time, however, Montaigne would be recognized as embodying, perhaps better than any other author of his time, the spirit of freely entertaining doubt which began to emerge at that time. He is most famously known for his skeptical remark, "Que sais-je?" ("What do I know?").
Remarkably modern even to readers today, Montaigne's attempt to examine the world through the lens of the only thing he can depend on implicitly—his own judgment—makes him more accessible to modern readers than any other author of the Renaissance. Much of modern literary nonfiction has found inspiration in Montaigne, and writers of all kinds continue to read him for his masterful balance of intellectual knowledge and personal storytelling.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Read
February 17, 2026credo di averne saltati almeno ¾, ma non è un mio problema
June 15, 2025
Letters and Essays of Montaigne, Volume I by Michel de Montaigne, my notes on some of his essays are at https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... together with other reviews
10 out of 10
The Essays of Michel de Montaigne are among the 100 Greatest Books of All Time, and I am not talking my own notion of that, there is a serious list, created by The Norwegian Book Club, but not some amateur concoction, they have asked luminaries like Salman Rushdie, Umberto Eco, John Irving about this
Furthermore, reading those pages of wisdom is inspiring, useful, overwhelming and relevant, just like consulting the pages on Liars https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20..., America and our own land will have lections soon, and one is really a standout, but as a phony
Orange Jesus is one of those names that keep coming up in these lines, because he serves as a paradigm, he is the representation of evil, for yours truly, while for his cohorts, he is The Chosen, there is an article in The Economist, which looks at the religious vote, evangelicals represent a quarter of the electorate in the US
And they see this son of Satan – if they were to really use the criteria of their dogmas, I am an atheist, and what they do in this case is just another argument to stay that way – as the one sent, they look at the section in the bible where Cyrus, the pagan king, has saved Jerusalem, or something else, and connect it to…
Orange Jesus, you have a flawed individual, but sent by God, no less, and then there is that assassination attempt the first one (alas, I say here, where nobody is present, it was a failed try, I am convinced that for the good of human kind, the poor guy should have made the perfect shot, it is also a question of Bentham and utilitarianism)
Those insane fools see the hand of God there too, but they are individuals who pray for a parking spot, and when one is available, they see it as a granted, small miracle, so what can we expect, if seventy million in the US (he has worshippers elsewhere) will vote in about 12 days for the Orange Devil, what can we do?
In fact, I think they said that thirty million have already placed their ballots, by mail, and out of that, maybe 16 million will be Democrats (as in sane, even those extremes there are more palatable that the red goons of the Orange Felon) given that they are more likely to vote early, the idiot discouraged his fans to use mail
One of the essays of this morning was on age, and I look at the application for the event of November 5th,
They used to scream that Biden is too old, and his performance in the only debate he had with the Oange Fool was a sorry spectacle, but what about this boxer they send in the ring from the former GOP aka…
Grand Old Party, he is all over the place, I mean he has this townhall meeting, and asks for disco and Pavarotti music – he insults the tenor, saying he liked him, but he was difficult, something like that – and then he dances for half an hour, really, is this the serious candidate, the one who will fix economy, wars, or just dementia on display?
And that was just one event, on one day, this catastrophe of a monkey went on to talk about the…penis of a deceased golfer, who had this father, worked hard, then went to the locker room and they were all impressed, because you see, the world needs to know about that, it is paramount, imperative and essential
Look, if he talks like a grandfather, at some club, or at his kitsch place, it would be alright, if only this would be a retired old guy, with no impact on the world, NATO, my poor country and most of the world, if not all of it, he represents the decline of his once great democracy, and the ‘progress’ humans have made
Yuval Harari https://realini.blogspot.com/2021/02/... is one of the great thinkers of our world, he has launched a new book, Nexus, recently, and I have just plunged into it, he talks about information, Google, Qannon, the idea that information is not really the end of it all
He has reminded me of the psychology classic The Paradox of Choice https://realini.blogspot.com/2015/07/... by Barry Schwartz, which explains how having choice is good, but once you get too much, it can be overwhelming, in fact it is, it is not just it can be
One example I remember is the tasting of things in shops, when they offer three to five jams, say, would be customers buy, but if it is a tasting with thirty, or else many choices, they do not take those at the counter, it was too much to ask, Barry Schwartz insists also on the difference between Maximizers and Satisfizers
You want to be a Satisfizer, because this is the one who wants very good, excellent things, but will not demand perfection, which is the domain of the maximizer, who wants perfect – something I listened to in a song, recently, told as if this is the norm, I need perfection, yeah, right, go find it – and ergo is always dissatisfied
The thing with too much information is the same as with the Paradox of Choice, it can be overwhelming and that happens to supporters of the Orange Hurricane (as in really awful, not good), they think they know, but they are deplorables, Hilary was right!
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
10 out of 10
The Essays of Michel de Montaigne are among the 100 Greatest Books of All Time, and I am not talking my own notion of that, there is a serious list, created by The Norwegian Book Club, but not some amateur concoction, they have asked luminaries like Salman Rushdie, Umberto Eco, John Irving about this
Furthermore, reading those pages of wisdom is inspiring, useful, overwhelming and relevant, just like consulting the pages on Liars https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20..., America and our own land will have lections soon, and one is really a standout, but as a phony
Orange Jesus is one of those names that keep coming up in these lines, because he serves as a paradigm, he is the representation of evil, for yours truly, while for his cohorts, he is The Chosen, there is an article in The Economist, which looks at the religious vote, evangelicals represent a quarter of the electorate in the US
And they see this son of Satan – if they were to really use the criteria of their dogmas, I am an atheist, and what they do in this case is just another argument to stay that way – as the one sent, they look at the section in the bible where Cyrus, the pagan king, has saved Jerusalem, or something else, and connect it to…
Orange Jesus, you have a flawed individual, but sent by God, no less, and then there is that assassination attempt the first one (alas, I say here, where nobody is present, it was a failed try, I am convinced that for the good of human kind, the poor guy should have made the perfect shot, it is also a question of Bentham and utilitarianism)
Those insane fools see the hand of God there too, but they are individuals who pray for a parking spot, and when one is available, they see it as a granted, small miracle, so what can we expect, if seventy million in the US (he has worshippers elsewhere) will vote in about 12 days for the Orange Devil, what can we do?
In fact, I think they said that thirty million have already placed their ballots, by mail, and out of that, maybe 16 million will be Democrats (as in sane, even those extremes there are more palatable that the red goons of the Orange Felon) given that they are more likely to vote early, the idiot discouraged his fans to use mail
One of the essays of this morning was on age, and I look at the application for the event of November 5th,
They used to scream that Biden is too old, and his performance in the only debate he had with the Oange Fool was a sorry spectacle, but what about this boxer they send in the ring from the former GOP aka…
Grand Old Party, he is all over the place, I mean he has this townhall meeting, and asks for disco and Pavarotti music – he insults the tenor, saying he liked him, but he was difficult, something like that – and then he dances for half an hour, really, is this the serious candidate, the one who will fix economy, wars, or just dementia on display?
And that was just one event, on one day, this catastrophe of a monkey went on to talk about the…penis of a deceased golfer, who had this father, worked hard, then went to the locker room and they were all impressed, because you see, the world needs to know about that, it is paramount, imperative and essential
Look, if he talks like a grandfather, at some club, or at his kitsch place, it would be alright, if only this would be a retired old guy, with no impact on the world, NATO, my poor country and most of the world, if not all of it, he represents the decline of his once great democracy, and the ‘progress’ humans have made
Yuval Harari https://realini.blogspot.com/2021/02/... is one of the great thinkers of our world, he has launched a new book, Nexus, recently, and I have just plunged into it, he talks about information, Google, Qannon, the idea that information is not really the end of it all
He has reminded me of the psychology classic The Paradox of Choice https://realini.blogspot.com/2015/07/... by Barry Schwartz, which explains how having choice is good, but once you get too much, it can be overwhelming, in fact it is, it is not just it can be
One example I remember is the tasting of things in shops, when they offer three to five jams, say, would be customers buy, but if it is a tasting with thirty, or else many choices, they do not take those at the counter, it was too much to ask, Barry Schwartz insists also on the difference between Maximizers and Satisfizers
You want to be a Satisfizer, because this is the one who wants very good, excellent things, but will not demand perfection, which is the domain of the maximizer, who wants perfect – something I listened to in a song, recently, told as if this is the norm, I need perfection, yeah, right, go find it – and ergo is always dissatisfied
The thing with too much information is the same as with the Paradox of Choice, it can be overwhelming and that happens to supporters of the Orange Hurricane (as in really awful, not good), they think they know, but they are deplorables, Hilary was right!
Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se
There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know
As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...
Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works
‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’
‚Parturiunt montes, nascetur ridiculus mus’
“From Monty Python - The Meaning of Life...Well, it's nothing very special...Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.”
July 19, 2020
A lot of it is pretty thought provoking. Less of it is dated than you might expect.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews