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Montaigne
La actualidad de los grandes autores, como Montaigne, es permanente y múltiple. Pero Stefan Zweig, en un momento en que se ciernen sobre él el drama de la guerra y una íntima y trágica desesperanza, fija su atención en un elemento que es fundamental en el autor de Los ensayos: el esfuerzo por mantener a salvo la propia independencia en una sociedad cada vez más brutal y gregaria. El texto de Zweig sobre Montaigne no es un frío estudio destinado a especialistas, sino una obra emocionada y vibrante dirigida al público habitual del autor vienés. Una obra que Zweig ni siquiera llegó a concluir, porque antes se quitó la vida. A pesar de todo, en vista de la fuerza de este hermoso libro, ¿podemos interpretar que la esperanza de Montaigne se hizo presente en algún momento también en Zweig, y que el gran escritor vienés concibió, a pesar de todo, una nueva aurora para Europa?
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1941
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About the author
Stefan Zweig
2,250 books10.5k followersStefan Zweig was one of the world's most famous writers during the 1920s and 1930s, especially in the U.S., South America, and Europe. He produced novels, plays, biographies, and journalist pieces. Among his most famous works are Beware of Pity, Letter from an Unknown Woman, and Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles. He and his second wife committed suicide in 1942.
Zweig studied in Austria, France, and Germany before settling in Salzburg in 1913. In 1934, driven into exile by the Nazis, he emigrated to England and then, in 1940, to Brazil by way of New York. Finding only growing loneliness and disillusionment in their new surroundings, he and his second wife committed suicide.
Zweig's interest in psychology and the teachings of Sigmund Freud led to his most characteristic work, the subtle portrayal of character. Zweig's essays include studies of Honoré de Balzac, Charles Dickens, and Fyodor Dostoevsky (Drei Meister, 1920; Three Masters) and of Friedrich Hölderlin, Heinrich von Kleist, and Friedrich Nietzsche (Der Kampf mit dem Dämon, 1925; Master Builders). He achieved popularity with Sternstunden der Menschheit (1928; The Tide of Fortune), five historical portraits in miniature. He wrote full-scale, intuitive rather than objective, biographies of the French statesman Joseph Fouché (1929), Mary Stuart (1935), and others. His stories include those in Verwirrung der Gefühle (1925; Conflicts). He also wrote a psychological novel, Ungeduld des Herzens (1938; Beware of Pity), and translated works of Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, and Emile Verhaeren.
Most recently, his works provided the inspiration for 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Zweig studied in Austria, France, and Germany before settling in Salzburg in 1913. In 1934, driven into exile by the Nazis, he emigrated to England and then, in 1940, to Brazil by way of New York. Finding only growing loneliness and disillusionment in their new surroundings, he and his second wife committed suicide.
Zweig's interest in psychology and the teachings of Sigmund Freud led to his most characteristic work, the subtle portrayal of character. Zweig's essays include studies of Honoré de Balzac, Charles Dickens, and Fyodor Dostoevsky (Drei Meister, 1920; Three Masters) and of Friedrich Hölderlin, Heinrich von Kleist, and Friedrich Nietzsche (Der Kampf mit dem Dämon, 1925; Master Builders). He achieved popularity with Sternstunden der Menschheit (1928; The Tide of Fortune), five historical portraits in miniature. He wrote full-scale, intuitive rather than objective, biographies of the French statesman Joseph Fouché (1929), Mary Stuart (1935), and others. His stories include those in Verwirrung der Gefühle (1925; Conflicts). He also wrote a psychological novel, Ungeduld des Herzens (1938; Beware of Pity), and translated works of Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, and Emile Verhaeren.
Most recently, his works provided the inspiration for 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel.
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August 10, 2020
Thinking the Unthinkable
Emotionally and politically, if not yet militarily, the presidency of Donald Trump has had the same impact on the world as the election of Adolf Hitler in 1933 or the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand in 1914. It is a shocking, incomprehensible fact which becomes more shocking and incomprehensible every day. Trump establishes a demarcation between one world and another. I don’t feel it an exaggeration to echo Zweig’s feeling for Montaigne’s situation of “precisely a generation like ours, cast by fate into the cataract of the world’s turmoil.”
Before Trump, the United States, while often causing great harm in the world, had some claim to moral standing. It erred, when it did, with some shame and recognition that it wasn’t as honourable as it should be. After Trump it is clear that the great democratic experiment has failed. The United States is merely a banana republic with nuclear weapons. Its factions are mutually criminalising and irreconcilable through either intellect or emotional appeal. Its politics is as brutal and corrupt as that of a recently liberated colony. Its ineptness in governing its own people and communicating with the rest of the world is breath-taking.
This is relevant to Zweig’s Montaigne because it was written in similar circumstances. Exiled from his native Austria, he watched as the civilisation of Europe destroyed itself ideal by ideal. He had already experienced the political and economic disaster of the First World War and the shame that ensued. As he wrote Montaigne, he was overcome by the cultural disaster of European fascism that he perceived would have even more terrible consequences. Shortly after finishing the book, he and his wife despairingly took their own lives.
Montaigne, Zweig felt accurately or not, was a man who encountered a similar mass deterioration of society. A model therefore, possibly even an inspiration as great as Marcus Aurelius, for how to cope with the spiritual and aesthetic chaos of a pervasive and dominant vulgarity. Like Montaigne, Zweig felt “We too need to stand the test, to endure one of the most horrifying collapses of humanity, which follows directly one of its most magnificent periods of advancement.” The book is an exploration of how one might do that.
One also might suspect, given the tragic outcome, that Zweig’s exploration was not all that successful. But then again perhaps it was exactly what was needed to provide the courage to act decisively. In any case it is not necessary to make a judgment using Zweig’s criterion, whatever that was. The reader can use his own aesthetic template to judge both Montaigne and the Zweig one can detect in his version of Montaigne - a man trying with all his resources to comprehend and accept a reality that is in many ways incomprehensible and unacceptable.
“Strong diseases require strong remedies”, wrote Montaigne. Most of us feel the same “fundamental feeling” of impotence which Zweig ascribes to Montaigne and which he claims for himself. Withdrawal until some semblance of rationality rather than cant, of beauty rather than insistent vulgarity returns. “One must seek another certitude beyond the world, beyond the homeland; one must refuse to join the chorus of the demoniacal and create one’s own homeland, one’s own world, outside the present time.” In the age of Trump, what alternative is there? And what if such a return proves impossible? I suppose Zweig’s ultimate choice if one has sufficient courage.
Emotionally and politically, if not yet militarily, the presidency of Donald Trump has had the same impact on the world as the election of Adolf Hitler in 1933 or the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand in 1914. It is a shocking, incomprehensible fact which becomes more shocking and incomprehensible every day. Trump establishes a demarcation between one world and another. I don’t feel it an exaggeration to echo Zweig’s feeling for Montaigne’s situation of “precisely a generation like ours, cast by fate into the cataract of the world’s turmoil.”
Before Trump, the United States, while often causing great harm in the world, had some claim to moral standing. It erred, when it did, with some shame and recognition that it wasn’t as honourable as it should be. After Trump it is clear that the great democratic experiment has failed. The United States is merely a banana republic with nuclear weapons. Its factions are mutually criminalising and irreconcilable through either intellect or emotional appeal. Its politics is as brutal and corrupt as that of a recently liberated colony. Its ineptness in governing its own people and communicating with the rest of the world is breath-taking.
This is relevant to Zweig’s Montaigne because it was written in similar circumstances. Exiled from his native Austria, he watched as the civilisation of Europe destroyed itself ideal by ideal. He had already experienced the political and economic disaster of the First World War and the shame that ensued. As he wrote Montaigne, he was overcome by the cultural disaster of European fascism that he perceived would have even more terrible consequences. Shortly after finishing the book, he and his wife despairingly took their own lives.
Montaigne, Zweig felt accurately or not, was a man who encountered a similar mass deterioration of society. A model therefore, possibly even an inspiration as great as Marcus Aurelius, for how to cope with the spiritual and aesthetic chaos of a pervasive and dominant vulgarity. Like Montaigne, Zweig felt “We too need to stand the test, to endure one of the most horrifying collapses of humanity, which follows directly one of its most magnificent periods of advancement.” The book is an exploration of how one might do that.
One also might suspect, given the tragic outcome, that Zweig’s exploration was not all that successful. But then again perhaps it was exactly what was needed to provide the courage to act decisively. In any case it is not necessary to make a judgment using Zweig’s criterion, whatever that was. The reader can use his own aesthetic template to judge both Montaigne and the Zweig one can detect in his version of Montaigne - a man trying with all his resources to comprehend and accept a reality that is in many ways incomprehensible and unacceptable.
“Strong diseases require strong remedies”, wrote Montaigne. Most of us feel the same “fundamental feeling” of impotence which Zweig ascribes to Montaigne and which he claims for himself. Withdrawal until some semblance of rationality rather than cant, of beauty rather than insistent vulgarity returns. “One must seek another certitude beyond the world, beyond the homeland; one must refuse to join the chorus of the demoniacal and create one’s own homeland, one’s own world, outside the present time.” In the age of Trump, what alternative is there? And what if such a return proves impossible? I suppose Zweig’s ultimate choice if one has sufficient courage.
January 21, 2018
Zweig is the best. Secular humanism uber alles! Great to return to him after a year or so away and think the same general thought: I need to read everything he's written, particularly these short biographies. This is a step in that direction. It's really a pretty slight but insightful/enjoyable rundown of Montaigne's life, paralleled by Zweig's own. Zweig wrote this in Brazil shortly before he killed himself with his second wife, exiled from the irretrievably ruined European culture he thrived in and treated like his true religion (if you haven't read The World of Yesterday, I can't recommend it more highly if you're interested in Euro culture in the first half of the 20th century). I haven't read Montaigne, though I've tried and will surely try again soon. Interesting bits: he flees the plague that kills half of Bordeaux's 34K population, he essentially self-publishes his essays, he travels for nearly two years at age 48 to get away from all the demands of family and land ownership and while away is named mayor without running for office, he essentially locks himself in a tower with a view of his inherited estate and writes, trying to get as close as possible to the core of his life (I've used that phrase before writing about Knausgaard) yet he doesn't consider himself a writer. His mother comes from a Spanish Jewish family, yet he doesn't talk about her at all. As a child his father immersed him in Latin to such a degree (all caregivers and teachers only spoke it) that it was his true first language. But the real power of this, what sustains it through its 115 pages (first 35 pages is an introduction) is the parallel Zweig draws right away between his time (the unimaginable brutalities of the Nazi rise and WWII) and Montaigne's time, which offered sufficient horrific slaughter, with a sort of civil war descending into what Zweig calls (deploying a typically perfect Zweig-type phrase) "a vortex of pandemonium," totally lawless criminality run rampant etc. During such a time, how do you protect yourself from contracting some terrible infection of the soul? Montaigne and Zweig inculcate themselves, fighting the battle the only way they really can: internally, waging a sort of soul battle against the incursions of immorality run amok. But the really interesting thing was to read the opening as Zweig parallels his own time with Montaigne's time, thinking all the time of course about our own time, its particular nastiness -- really bad, so bad, bad! Thankfully little books like this, beautifully published by Pushkin Press (French flaps, textured covers, thick bright pages), disperse readers across centuries of struggles, most of which seem far worse than anything we face now, which is good to keep in mind since, despite the general gist of protecting oneself from the forces of idiocy and evil all around, these guys aren't exactly role models -- it's probably not a good idea for everyone to hide away in a tower writing essays about what they know or to light out for South America and ultimately end themselves before seeing the resolution of an era's nasty issues. But still totally worth the few hours reading and a reminder that things have always been simultaneously good and bad, undulating for the most part between either extreme for all time.
December 30, 2015
Thank you to Pushkin Collection for re-publishing Stefan Zweig's biography of Montaigne. Zweig's personal, somewhat casual, yet highly informed style of writing for biography totally engaged me in Montaigne's life and also led me to a renewed wish to read the Essays sooner rather than later. In this current age of vile and petty discourse, I enjoyed the call to searching for "knowing the self." Very little of this is in evidence in the public forum today leaving Montaigne's wish for solitude so understandable. Also his wish for travel in order to know as many people and customs different from himself and those he already knew as possible.
Those who have read other of Sweig's biographies will not be surprised at the lack of citations for quotes in the text. I noted the lack of footnotes in Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman. While at first this may have irked me in this latter book, I grew not to mind it at all. And in Montaigne it really did not bother me as I knew that the source was Montaigne unless another source was mentioned, such as a letter from the king. I am only mentioning this as it is a Zweig quirk, not a publishing error.
I highly recommend this as a brief and engaging introduction to the life of Montaigne and a glimpse into the Essays. What better service can a biography provide than to whet the appetite for the works of its subject.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Those who have read other of Sweig's biographies will not be surprised at the lack of citations for quotes in the text. I noted the lack of footnotes in Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman. While at first this may have irked me in this latter book, I grew not to mind it at all. And in Montaigne it really did not bother me as I knew that the source was Montaigne unless another source was mentioned, such as a letter from the king. I am only mentioning this as it is a Zweig quirk, not a publishing error.
I highly recommend this as a brief and engaging introduction to the life of Montaigne and a glimpse into the Essays. What better service can a biography provide than to whet the appetite for the works of its subject.
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.
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November 8, 2016
Autumn Rhythm, by Jackson Pollak
Denn es gehört zu den geheimnisvollen Gesetzen des Lebens, daß wir seiner wahren und wesentlichen Werte immer erst zu spät gewahr werden: der Jugend, wenn sie entschwindet, der Gesundheit, sobald sie uns verläßt, und der Freiheit, dieser kostbarsten Essenz unserer Seele, erst im Augenblick, da sie uns genommen werden soll oder schon genommen worden ist.()
Though Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) and his first wife, Friderike, escaped the Nazis by fleeing to England in 1934, in 1940 the overwhelming triumphs of the Blitzkrieg sent Zweig and his second wife, Lotte, to the USA and then Brazil. One of the most commercially successful German language authors of the first half of the 20th century, Zweig had to witness the Nazis banning and burning his books because he was Jewish and anti-Nazi, and then sweeping across Europe in a wave that seemingly could not be stopped.
In the midst of this stress and despair Zweig, who had written many memorable biographies of historical figures, started composing Montaigne. He felt close to Montaigne because he had lived through the violence and intolerance of the religious wars that convulsed Europe in the 16th century and had advocated for civilized values that were in danger of disappearing. Indeed, Zweig felt that he was now able to fully appreciate Montaigne's force of character.
Nur wer in der eigenen erschütterten Seele eine Zeit durchleben muß, die mit Krieg, Gewalt und tyrannischen Ideologien dem Einzelnen das Leben und innerhalb seines Lebens wieder die kostbarste Substanz, die individuelle Freiheit, bedroht, nur der weiß, wieviel Mut, wieviel Ehrlichkeit und Entschlossenheit vonnöten sind, in solchen Zeiten der Herdentollheit seinem innersten Ich treu zu bleiben. Nur er weiß, daß keine Sache auf Erden schwerer und problematischer wird als innerhalb einer Massenkatastrophe sich seine geistige und moralische Unabhängigkeit unbefleckt zu bewahren. (*)
But precisely this identification with his subject assures that Montaigne is not a biography, even in the idiosyncratic sense of Zweig's other biographies. Zweig admits this freely:
Mich aber berührt und beschäftigt an Montaigne heute nur dies: wie er in einer Zeit ähnlich der unsrigen sich innerlich freigemacht hat, und wie wir, indem wir ihn lesen, uns an seinem Beispiel bestärken können.(**)
Though one certainly does learn something of Montaigne's life from this text - drawn primarily from Montaigne's own discursive essays - it is more than anything a cri de coeur and Zweig's attempt to remind himself that mankind had survived earlier crises, an attempt at self-therapy. The therapy failed - I have the sense that Montaigne remained unfinished at the double suicide of Zweig and his wife on February 22, 1942. They left their lives, holding each other's hands, through an overdose of barbiturates.
() For it belongs to the secret laws of life that we always become aware of its true and essential values too late: of youth when it vanishes, of health as soon as it leaves us, and of freedom, this most valuable essence of our soul, only in the moment when it would be or already is taken from us.
(*) Only he who in his own stricken soul must live through a time that with war, violence and tyrannical ideologies threatens his life, and within that life his most valuable substance, his individual liberty, only he knows how much courage, how much honesty and resolve are necessary to remain true to his innermost Self in such times of herd madness. Only he knows that nothing on earth is more difficult and problematic than to maintain his spiritual and moral independence within a mass catastrophe.
(**) What touches and occupies me today with Montaigne is only this: how he in a time similar to ours managed to free himself internally, and how we, by reading him, can fortify ourselves with his example.
November 28, 2018
In this biography, we see Zweig projecting his worries onto Montaigne, drawing parallels between Europe’s descent into insanity in the mid-20th century and the wars of religion that shook Europe in Montaigne’s day and age. Montaigne doubted and second-guessed every thought that went through his head, but one of the few maxims he ever penned was: 'The most important thing in the world is to know how to be oneself.' And in those times of mass fanaticism, Zweig sought consolation in Montaigne’s words without hiding his admiration for the essayist’s independence of spirit.
Zweig, an Austrian Jew, wrote this book after fleeing to South America following the outbreak of World War II and killed himself before completing it. As a result, the book feels clumsy and rushed at points. Some passages are lucid outbursts of inspiration, written with a sense of feverish urgency, while others are telegraphic skeletons of points he never got round to developing.
What’s fascinating is that Zweig wrote this book using what little bibliography he could find in Brazil, separated as he was from his library. Consequently, many passages are written from memory and, as the footnotes point out, he messes ups plenty of facts. Don’t go into this book expecting a work of meticulous research; this is a work of passion, one suspects written, to a point, as a sort of therapy.
Honestly, instead of lessening the book, it makes the reading experience a lot more interesting. It's quite delightful to see Zweig misquote books and muddle sources while describing the way Montaigne aloofly humblebragged about his own poor memory. Zweig set out to write a biography that humanises Montaigne and left us a manuscript that, in its interrupted and unpolished state, ended up humanising Zweig himself.
Zweig, an Austrian Jew, wrote this book after fleeing to South America following the outbreak of World War II and killed himself before completing it. As a result, the book feels clumsy and rushed at points. Some passages are lucid outbursts of inspiration, written with a sense of feverish urgency, while others are telegraphic skeletons of points he never got round to developing.
What’s fascinating is that Zweig wrote this book using what little bibliography he could find in Brazil, separated as he was from his library. Consequently, many passages are written from memory and, as the footnotes point out, he messes ups plenty of facts. Don’t go into this book expecting a work of meticulous research; this is a work of passion, one suspects written, to a point, as a sort of therapy.
Honestly, instead of lessening the book, it makes the reading experience a lot more interesting. It's quite delightful to see Zweig misquote books and muddle sources while describing the way Montaigne aloofly humblebragged about his own poor memory. Zweig set out to write a biography that humanises Montaigne and left us a manuscript that, in its interrupted and unpolished state, ended up humanising Zweig himself.
April 23, 2023
It was with a heavy heart that I read this biography, knowing how Zweig had sought solace and spiritual companionship in Montaigne during his final days in exile in Brazil and how, devastatingly, he and his wife chose to end their lives.
The World of Yesterday is an important book for me, because reading it was a very rare experience that felt to me as if a dear wise friend was talking to me, and I, in turn, understood him.
I imagine reading Montaigne to Zweig was an experience not unsimilar to that of me reading Zweig, only that it must have been a much stronger kinship that Zweig felt.
Both of them lived in a time of violence and turmoil; both of them longed, more than anything, for remaining free “in these times of the herd’s rampancy”.
But the parallel between the two great minds doesn’t end there: both of them were from affluent families that afforded them the freedom for intellectual growth in their youth; both of them despises the rigidity in the traditional system of education and both of them well travelled.
It’s no surprise that Zweig, when stumbled upon a “dusty old edition” of Montaigne’s famous Essais in a damp cellar in their bungalow in Brazil, was immediately taken by it.
I understand that in this biography I am not only reading about Montaigne but also, probably more importantly, about Zweig.
“in his struggle to espouse the dignity of individual courage and forbearance in a moral stand, Zweig holds up Montaigne like a mirror, slightly distorted to serve his own preoccupations.”
This is probably the beauty of this biography and why it is so touching to read. Here my old friend from The World of Yesterday introduces me to a new friend, Montaigne, and his words, defying time and distance, make me feel connected to both of them.
I am not good at reading essays, but I will start to read Montaigne, here and there, when the mood suites me, just as Montaigne himself would have done.
The World of Yesterday is an important book for me, because reading it was a very rare experience that felt to me as if a dear wise friend was talking to me, and I, in turn, understood him.
I imagine reading Montaigne to Zweig was an experience not unsimilar to that of me reading Zweig, only that it must have been a much stronger kinship that Zweig felt.
Both of them lived in a time of violence and turmoil; both of them longed, more than anything, for remaining free “in these times of the herd’s rampancy”.
But the parallel between the two great minds doesn’t end there: both of them were from affluent families that afforded them the freedom for intellectual growth in their youth; both of them despises the rigidity in the traditional system of education and both of them well travelled.
It’s no surprise that Zweig, when stumbled upon a “dusty old edition” of Montaigne’s famous Essais in a damp cellar in their bungalow in Brazil, was immediately taken by it.
I understand that in this biography I am not only reading about Montaigne but also, probably more importantly, about Zweig.
“in his struggle to espouse the dignity of individual courage and forbearance in a moral stand, Zweig holds up Montaigne like a mirror, slightly distorted to serve his own preoccupations.”
This is probably the beauty of this biography and why it is so touching to read. Here my old friend from The World of Yesterday introduces me to a new friend, Montaigne, and his words, defying time and distance, make me feel connected to both of them.
I am not good at reading essays, but I will start to read Montaigne, here and there, when the mood suites me, just as Montaigne himself would have done.
September 7, 2018
Un texto inconcluso en que la emotiva y magistral pluma de Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) dedica una biografía al gran pensador renacentista francés Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) y más que una biografía este texto es una suerte de apología de este gran humanista, creador de una obra fundamental de la literatura y el pensamiento occidental llamada simplemente “Ensayos” que se constituye en una especie de biblia pagana.
Otra pequeña obra por su extensión pero grande en belleza y en luz que el maestro Zweig nos regala y en donde además de proveernos de datos sobre la vida de Montaigne, también nos proporciona píldoras del gran pensamiento del autor francés, interpretando esa sabiduría renacentista.
“El escritor que hay en él es sólo una sombra del hombre, mientras que de ordinario nos maravillamos mil veces al ver en otros lo grande que es su arte de escribir y lo pequeño que es su arte de vivir”.
Otra pequeña obra por su extensión pero grande en belleza y en luz que el maestro Zweig nos regala y en donde además de proveernos de datos sobre la vida de Montaigne, también nos proporciona píldoras del gran pensamiento del autor francés, interpretando esa sabiduría renacentista.
“El escritor que hay en él es sólo una sombra del hombre, mientras que de ordinario nos maravillamos mil veces al ver en otros lo grande que es su arte de escribir y lo pequeño que es su arte de vivir”.
August 15, 2020
Στο συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο του Στέφαν Τσβαιχ γνωρίζουμε τον Μονταίνιο. Είναι μια μορφή που ξεχωρίζει στην εποχή του και μαθαίνουμε πολλά για αυτόν και το έργο του. Από τα παιδικά του χρόνια φαινόταν ότι θα γινόταν πολύ σπουδαίος. Η επιμονή του πατέρα του να ξεχωρίσει και να μην είναι απλά ένας αριστοκράτης που γλεντά και ζει ανέμελα... ο πατέρας του επιδίωξε να μάθει πρώτα λατινικά και μετά γαλλικά. Προσέλαβε έναν Γερμανό δάσκαλο που δεν γνώριζε καθόλου γαλλικά και 2 βοηθούς που μετέφραζαν για την οικογένεια. Έτσι από μικρός διδάχτηκε μόνο Λατινικά. Ως και οι γονείς του μικρού καθώς και το προσωπικό του σπιτιού έπρεπε να μάθουν κάποιες φράσεις..λατινικές. Κάποια στιγμή πέθανε ο πατέρας και έπρεπε ο Μονταίνιος να αναλάβει την επίβλεψη όλων... αρχοντικό, χωράφια και γενικά όλες τις υποχρεώσεις του πατέρα του. Απέκτησε και οικογένεια. Ομως κάποια στιγμή μεταφέρθηκε σε έναν άλλο όροφο όπου έμενε μόνος του με την τεράστια βιβλιοθήκη του. Εκεί εργαζόταν μόνος του. Διάβαζε και έγραφε ανενόχλητος. Μπορούσε από εκεί να επιβλέπει τα πάντα, όλους τους εργαζόμενους τους και την οικογένεια του, χωρίς να τον βλέπουν εκείνοι. Εκείνος ανάμεσα στα χιλιάδες βιβλία του να γράφει τα 'Δοκίμια¨ του. Προσπαθεί να κατανοήσει τον εαυτό του. Το "essence" του. Ζήτησε να χαρακτούν στην οροφή του 54 Λατινικά ρητά. Ο λόγος όταν αφαιρείται, να θέλει να βλέπει σοφά λόγια...Η μοναδική γαλλική φράση που υπήρχε, ήταν η τελευταία "Que sais - je?"
δηλαδή "Τι ξέρω?". Γράφει και διαβάζει ώρες ατελείωτες. Εάν δεν του αρέσει ένα βιβλίο το αφήνει.. Εχει αποσυρθεί από τον κόσμο και τα κοινά. Θαυαμάζει τον Σωκράτη... Μετά από 10 χρόνια απομόνωσης αρχίζει να ταξιδεύει για 2 συενεχόμενα έτη. Θέλει να γνωρίσει άλλους κόσμους, ανθρώπους, τόπους, έθιμα. Σε ένα σημείο του βιβλίου αναφέρει "διαβάζοντας τον Μονταίνιο, μαθαίνει κανείς τελικά και πως πρέπει να ταξιδεύει".. Αργότερα έγινε Δήμαρχος στην πόλη του Μπορντώ για 2 θητείες. Ξεχώρισα επίσης τις εξής φράσεις
- Το σπουδαιότερο πράγμα στο κόσμο είναι να ξέρεις να είσαι ο εαυτός σου.
και - Για αυτό κατά την γνώμη μου, η υψηλότερη τέχνη ανάμεσα στις τέχνες είναι η τέχνη της προστασίας του εαυτού και της ανεξαρτησίας του".
θέλω να διαβάσω τα Δοκίμια του. ήταν μια σπουδαία προσωπικότητα.
δηλαδή "Τι ξέρω?". Γράφει και διαβάζει ώρες ατελείωτες. Εάν δεν του αρέσει ένα βιβλίο το αφήνει.. Εχει αποσυρθεί από τον κόσμο και τα κοινά. Θαυαμάζει τον Σωκράτη... Μετά από 10 χρόνια απομόνωσης αρχίζει να ταξιδεύει για 2 συενεχόμενα έτη. Θέλει να γνωρίσει άλλους κόσμους, ανθρώπους, τόπους, έθιμα. Σε ένα σημείο του βιβλίου αναφέρει "διαβάζοντας τον Μονταίνιο, μαθαίνει κανείς τελικά και πως πρέπει να ταξιδεύει".. Αργότερα έγινε Δήμαρχος στην πόλη του Μπορντώ για 2 θητείες. Ξεχώρισα επίσης τις εξής φράσεις
- Το σπουδαιότερο πράγμα στο κόσμο είναι να ξέρεις να είσαι ο εαυτός σου.
και - Για αυτό κατά την γνώμη μου, η υψηλότερη τέχνη ανάμεσα στις τέχνες είναι η τέχνη της προστασίας του εαυτού και της ανεξαρτησίας του".
θέλω να διαβάσω τα Δοκίμια του. ήταν μια σπουδαία προσωπικότητα.
April 25, 2019
É um pequeno livro interessante, mas não vai além disso, sendo-o mais por força do biografado e de quem biografa. Dito isto, não se pode chamar a um texto que aglutina um conjunto solto de ideias sobre alguém uma biografia. Zweig sentia-se já cansado de viver, na sua reta final, e encontrou em Montaigne algumas ideias atraentes que o inspiraram e o levaram a dedicar-lhe estas linhas em jeito de tributo, fazendo do livro isso mesmo, uma homenagem.
Para sermos completamente imparciais, temos de admitir que escrever uma biografia sobre Montaigne não é tarefa fácil, desde logo porque Montaigne foi um camaleão das ideias. Muito do que foi defendendo e escrevendo, passado pouco tempo, por vezes na mesma página, acabava contradizendo. Era um espírito livre, e foi nessa liberdade que se edificou e afirmou como homem de ideias, sempre pronto a questionar tudo e todos, um cético, um amante da expressão individual, totalmente livre de amarras.
Para sermos completamente imparciais, temos de admitir que escrever uma biografia sobre Montaigne não é tarefa fácil, desde logo porque Montaigne foi um camaleão das ideias. Muito do que foi defendendo e escrevendo, passado pouco tempo, por vezes na mesma página, acabava contradizendo. Era um espírito livre, e foi nessa liberdade que se edificou e afirmou como homem de ideias, sempre pronto a questionar tudo e todos, um cético, um amante da expressão individual, totalmente livre de amarras.
March 5, 2023
Montaigne, çevirmenin eksiksiz tanımlamasıyla 'biyografik denemenin üstadı' Stefan Zweig'ın ölmeden önce yazdığı son biyografi, belki de son kitap.
Ahmet Cemal'in bu iki hümanistin buluşması üzerine şahane bir önsözle zaten gereken incelemeyi yaptığı kitap, Avrupa'da ilk defa özgür düşüncenin ve kendini keşfetme yetisinin temellerini atmış Montaigne'in kişisel çözümlemesini ve hümanizminin övgüsünü içeriyor. Kitap, bir kez daha Zweig'in kurgu becerisinin ötesine geçen kusursuz tahlil ve deneme yeteneğini kanıtlıyor.
**
Zweig'in son günlerini kendine çok yakın gördüğü Montaigne üzerine okuyarak, düşünerek ve yazarak geçirdiğini biliyoruz. Ahmet Cemal her ne kadar onun için, "o, en gönüllü ölüm, ölümlerin en güzelidir" diyen Montaigne’de kendini bulmuştur" dese de, dahası bu iki hümanisti aynı kefeye koysa da; en az onunki kadar karmaşık bir çağda yaşamış Montaigne'nin 'kendini tanıma, kabul etme ve diğer her şeyden şüphe etme' anlayışı karşısında, Zweig'in tüm ümidini önce insanlığa bağlaması ve nihayet ondan umudunu keserek hayatına son vermiş olması sanki onu tam zıt yere koyuyor.
Ahmet Cemal'in bu iki hümanistin buluşması üzerine şahane bir önsözle zaten gereken incelemeyi yaptığı kitap, Avrupa'da ilk defa özgür düşüncenin ve kendini keşfetme yetisinin temellerini atmış Montaigne'in kişisel çözümlemesini ve hümanizminin övgüsünü içeriyor. Kitap, bir kez daha Zweig'in kurgu becerisinin ötesine geçen kusursuz tahlil ve deneme yeteneğini kanıtlıyor.
**
Zweig'in son günlerini kendine çok yakın gördüğü Montaigne üzerine okuyarak, düşünerek ve yazarak geçirdiğini biliyoruz. Ahmet Cemal her ne kadar onun için, "o, en gönüllü ölüm, ölümlerin en güzelidir" diyen Montaigne’de kendini bulmuştur" dese de, dahası bu iki hümanisti aynı kefeye koysa da; en az onunki kadar karmaşık bir çağda yaşamış Montaigne'nin 'kendini tanıma, kabul etme ve diğer her şeyden şüphe etme' anlayışı karşısında, Zweig'in tüm ümidini önce insanlığa bağlaması ve nihayet ondan umudunu keserek hayatına son vermiş olması sanki onu tam zıt yere koyuyor.
January 15, 2018
Can you imagine a better biographer than Stefan Zweig?
And is there a more interesting subject, in this genre, than Michel de Montaigne?
The best biography I have read on one of literature’s most interesting yet obscure figures.
Montaigne, from a philosophical viewpoint, is one of the most relatable and organic thinkers I have been introduced to through the medium of words.
He, Montaigne, lived during the 1500's.
Great. Worthy of seven point five stars.
And is there a more interesting subject, in this genre, than Michel de Montaigne?
The best biography I have read on one of literature’s most interesting yet obscure figures.
Montaigne, from a philosophical viewpoint, is one of the most relatable and organic thinkers I have been introduced to through the medium of words.
He, Montaigne, lived during the 1500's.
Great. Worthy of seven point five stars.
December 20, 2015
2,5
Ακατέργαστο, μεροληπτικο. Δεν μου άρεσε ενώ τον Τσβαιχ τον λατρεύω. Ήταν οι τελευταίοι μήνες της ζωής του, σε προφανώς περίεργη ψυχολογική κατάσταση, έγραψε όμως ένα αριστούργημα, την Σκακιστική νουβέλα. Μπορώ να πω ότι αντιπάθησα τον βιογραφομενο τελειως
Ακατέργαστο, μεροληπτικο. Δεν μου άρεσε ενώ τον Τσβαιχ τον λατρεύω. Ήταν οι τελευταίοι μήνες της ζωής του, σε προφανώς περίεργη ψυχολογική κατάσταση, έγραψε όμως ένα αριστούργημα, την Σκακιστική νουβέλα. Μπορώ να πω ότι αντιπάθησα τον βιογραφομενο τελειως
July 8, 2024
Une biographie en miroir, une correspondence enjambant 400ans, une connection egendrée par la perte de la liberté, durant la Reforme pour l'un et le nazisme pour l'autre.
"C'est une des lois mystérieuses de la vie que ses valeurs authentiques et essentielles nous apparaissent toujours trop tard : la jeunesse quand elle s'enfuit, la santé dès qu'elle nous abandonne, et la liberté, cette précieuse essence de notre âme, alors qu'elle va nous être ôtée."
"C'est une des lois mystérieuses de la vie que ses valeurs authentiques et essentielles nous apparaissent toujours trop tard : la jeunesse quand elle s'enfuit, la santé dès qu'elle nous abandonne, et la liberté, cette précieuse essence de notre âme, alors qu'elle va nous être ôtée."
January 9, 2018
Uzun yıllar önce Montaigne'nin "Denemeler"ini okumuştum. Zweig'in kitabı sonrasında bir kere daha okumam gerektiğini düşünüyorum ama düşünceleri ve yaşam tarzının bana göre olmadığını bilerek okumaya başlamak bana ne kazandıracak bilmiyorum. Önyargı mı? Belki evet!
alıntı: Kendi anlattığına göre, genç bir insanken, "böbürlenmek" ve bildikleriyle kendini göstermek için okumuştur; daha sonra biraz daha bilge olabilsin diye okumuştur; şimdi ise yalnızca canı istediği için okumakta, asla herhangi bir yarar düşüncesi beklememektedir. Bir kitap sıkıcı geldiğinde eline bir başkasını almaktadır. Bir kitap fazla ağır geldiğinde şunları söyler: "Karşıma çıkan güç pasajlar yüzünden kendimi yiyip bitiremem. Bir-iki girişimden sonra vazgeçerim; çünkü aklım, yalnızca bir atılım yapabilecek güçtedir. Bir noktayı bir bakışta anlayamadığım olursa, yeni çabaların artık bana hiçbir yararı yoktur; böyle çabalar, olayı aydınlatacağı yerde daha da karartırlar."-Bu tembel okur-, okuma çaba gerektirdiği anda kitabı elinden bırakır: "Kitaplar yüzünden ter dökmek gibi bir zorunluluğum yok,canım isterse onları bir yana atabilirim." diyen Montaigne'in , kitapların kendisi için en yararlı yanının "düşünme yeteneğini körüklemesi" olduğunu söylemesi tezat geldi. bu bölümleri okuduktan sonra kitaba bakış açısı bu şekilde olan birini okumak benim için pozitif bir getiri olur mu? Bilemiyorum.
Montaigne'in çocukluğunda ana sütünden kesilmezden önce, başka aristokrat evlerinde olduğu gibi şatoya bir süt anne getirtilecek yerde, Montaigne Şatosu'ndan uzaklaştırılmasını ilginç buldum. Derebeylik sınırları içerisinde kalan ufacık bir köyde yaşayan yoksul bir oduncu ailenin yanına verilmesi gelişme sürecini nasıl etkiledi merak ediyorum.
Montaigne'in ilişkiler konusundaki fikirleri de ilginç... "kişinin kendisini ödünç verebileceğini ama ruhunun özgürlüğünü kendisi için ayırması gerektiğini" savunması farklı bir bakış açısıydı. Fakat kadının çok eşliliği-aldatması üzerine olan sözlerini kabul edilemez buldum!
Bir dönem biryerlere gelebilmek için çabalayan Montaigne'in eserlerinin basılması sonrası belediye başkanı olması, ardından Navarreli Henri ile III. Henri arasındaki diyalogda sergilediği tavır en beğendiğim bölümler oldu.
Ölmeden önce yaşı en küçük kızının yaşı kadar olan Matmazel Marie de Gournay ile nişanlanmış olması o dönem şartlarına göre normal sayılsa da bu satırları okurken irkildim. Evet Matmazel, Montaigne'in yazdıklarına tutulmuş olabilir ama bir insanın yazdıklarına bağlanmakla onun karakterine aşık olmak farklı şekler diye düşünüyorum.
Zweig, Montaigne'yi her zamanki gibi kendine has tarzıyla eğrisiyle, doğrusuyla anlatmış ... Deneme yazarlığındaki son büyük ürünü bu eser.Son günlerinde, Brezilya'da eşiyle intihar etmeden önce, Avrupadaki bir arkadaşına, "artık sadece en büyükleri okuyabiliyorum." demiş...
Diğer Alıntılar:
#1 Bir şeyi ezbere bilmek, insanın bir şey bildiğini değil, bir şeyi belleğinde tutabildiğini gösterir.
#2 Yalnızca kendi göbeğine bakan dünyayı göremez.
alıntı: Kendi anlattığına göre, genç bir insanken, "böbürlenmek" ve bildikleriyle kendini göstermek için okumuştur; daha sonra biraz daha bilge olabilsin diye okumuştur; şimdi ise yalnızca canı istediği için okumakta, asla herhangi bir yarar düşüncesi beklememektedir. Bir kitap sıkıcı geldiğinde eline bir başkasını almaktadır. Bir kitap fazla ağır geldiğinde şunları söyler: "Karşıma çıkan güç pasajlar yüzünden kendimi yiyip bitiremem. Bir-iki girişimden sonra vazgeçerim; çünkü aklım, yalnızca bir atılım yapabilecek güçtedir. Bir noktayı bir bakışta anlayamadığım olursa, yeni çabaların artık bana hiçbir yararı yoktur; böyle çabalar, olayı aydınlatacağı yerde daha da karartırlar."-Bu tembel okur-, okuma çaba gerektirdiği anda kitabı elinden bırakır: "Kitaplar yüzünden ter dökmek gibi bir zorunluluğum yok,canım isterse onları bir yana atabilirim." diyen Montaigne'in , kitapların kendisi için en yararlı yanının "düşünme yeteneğini körüklemesi" olduğunu söylemesi tezat geldi. bu bölümleri okuduktan sonra kitaba bakış açısı bu şekilde olan birini okumak benim için pozitif bir getiri olur mu? Bilemiyorum.
Montaigne'in çocukluğunda ana sütünden kesilmezden önce, başka aristokrat evlerinde olduğu gibi şatoya bir süt anne getirtilecek yerde, Montaigne Şatosu'ndan uzaklaştırılmasını ilginç buldum. Derebeylik sınırları içerisinde kalan ufacık bir köyde yaşayan yoksul bir oduncu ailenin yanına verilmesi gelişme sürecini nasıl etkiledi merak ediyorum.
Montaigne'in ilişkiler konusundaki fikirleri de ilginç... "kişinin kendisini ödünç verebileceğini ama ruhunun özgürlüğünü kendisi için ayırması gerektiğini" savunması farklı bir bakış açısıydı. Fakat kadının çok eşliliği-aldatması üzerine olan sözlerini kabul edilemez buldum!
Bir dönem biryerlere gelebilmek için çabalayan Montaigne'in eserlerinin basılması sonrası belediye başkanı olması, ardından Navarreli Henri ile III. Henri arasındaki diyalogda sergilediği tavır en beğendiğim bölümler oldu.
Ölmeden önce yaşı en küçük kızının yaşı kadar olan Matmazel Marie de Gournay ile nişanlanmış olması o dönem şartlarına göre normal sayılsa da bu satırları okurken irkildim. Evet Matmazel, Montaigne'in yazdıklarına tutulmuş olabilir ama bir insanın yazdıklarına bağlanmakla onun karakterine aşık olmak farklı şekler diye düşünüyorum.
Zweig, Montaigne'yi her zamanki gibi kendine has tarzıyla eğrisiyle, doğrusuyla anlatmış ... Deneme yazarlığındaki son büyük ürünü bu eser.Son günlerinde, Brezilya'da eşiyle intihar etmeden önce, Avrupadaki bir arkadaşına, "artık sadece en büyükleri okuyabiliyorum." demiş...
Diğer Alıntılar:
#1 Bir şeyi ezbere bilmek, insanın bir şey bildiğini değil, bir şeyi belleğinde tutabildiğini gösterir.
#2 Yalnızca kendi göbeğine bakan dünyayı göremez.
February 7, 2023
Wow. Zijn we even onder de indruk, zeg.
"Alleen wie met geschokte ziel leeft in een tijdperk dat met oorlog, geweld en tirannieke ideologieën een bedreiging vormt voor het leven van de enkeling (...) weet hoeveel moed, hoeveel eerlijkheid en vastberadenheid nodig zijn om in zulke tijden van kuddewaan zijn diepste ik trouw te blijven (...) en (zijn) morele onafhankelijk ongeschonden te houden."
Zo duidt Stefan Zweig doorheen 400 jaar geschiedenis zijn verwantschap met Michel de Montaigne en verbindt hij de onzekere, gewelddadige tijden in het Frankrijk van Montaigne met de fascistische dagen die hij zelf net voor zijn dood ontvlucht is. Een verwantschap die de kritische lezer helaas vandaag ook pijnlijk snel herkent.
Wat volgt is een kraakhelder, vlot leesbaar, erg relevant en gedegen portret van Michel de Montaigne, de 16de eeuwse Franse filosoof die - tegen zijn zin - tot burgemeester van Bordeaux gekozen werd, raadsheer aan het Franse hof was, maar zich vooral in zijn bibliotheek wilde terugtrekken om twijfelend na te denken over zichzelf en bij uitbreiding wat het is om een vrij mens te zijn. Want dat is volgen Zweig de zoektocht van Montaigne bij uitstek:
"In tijdperken waarin de nobelste waarden van het leven (...) waarin onze vrede, onze autonomie en ons aangeboren recht worden opgeofferd aan de bezetenheid van een handvol fanatici en ideologieën, zijn alle problemen voor de mens die zijn menselijkheid niet aan zijn tijdperk wil verliezen te herleiden tot deze ene vraag: hoe blijf ik vrij?"
Weer pijnlijk herkenbaar, dachten we meteen.
Zweig schrijft een warm portret over de filosoof "die aanvoelt als een vriend" met begripvolle aandacht voor de kleinere kantje van Montaigne en met tomeloos respect voor diens niet aflatende zoektocht naar "Hoe leef ik?" zonder daarop het aanmatigende antwoord "Zo moet je leven!" te formuleren.
De verwantschap die Zweig met de filosoof voelt, staat je als lezer toe beide erg goed te leren kennen op de amper 120 uitgewerkte bladzijden van de onvoltooide biografie die Zweig schreef aan de vooravond van zijn zelfgekozen dood.
Ronduit indrukwekkend, pijnlijk relevant, heerlijk leesbaar en nog een slotcitaat om het af te leren:
"De actualiteit heeft geen macht over je zolang je weigert eraan deel te nemen, de waanzin van de tijd leidt niet tot een crisis zolang je je helderheid van geest bewaart."
Zes sterren en talloze herdrukken aub.
"Alleen wie met geschokte ziel leeft in een tijdperk dat met oorlog, geweld en tirannieke ideologieën een bedreiging vormt voor het leven van de enkeling (...) weet hoeveel moed, hoeveel eerlijkheid en vastberadenheid nodig zijn om in zulke tijden van kuddewaan zijn diepste ik trouw te blijven (...) en (zijn) morele onafhankelijk ongeschonden te houden."
Zo duidt Stefan Zweig doorheen 400 jaar geschiedenis zijn verwantschap met Michel de Montaigne en verbindt hij de onzekere, gewelddadige tijden in het Frankrijk van Montaigne met de fascistische dagen die hij zelf net voor zijn dood ontvlucht is. Een verwantschap die de kritische lezer helaas vandaag ook pijnlijk snel herkent.
Wat volgt is een kraakhelder, vlot leesbaar, erg relevant en gedegen portret van Michel de Montaigne, de 16de eeuwse Franse filosoof die - tegen zijn zin - tot burgemeester van Bordeaux gekozen werd, raadsheer aan het Franse hof was, maar zich vooral in zijn bibliotheek wilde terugtrekken om twijfelend na te denken over zichzelf en bij uitbreiding wat het is om een vrij mens te zijn. Want dat is volgen Zweig de zoektocht van Montaigne bij uitstek:
"In tijdperken waarin de nobelste waarden van het leven (...) waarin onze vrede, onze autonomie en ons aangeboren recht worden opgeofferd aan de bezetenheid van een handvol fanatici en ideologieën, zijn alle problemen voor de mens die zijn menselijkheid niet aan zijn tijdperk wil verliezen te herleiden tot deze ene vraag: hoe blijf ik vrij?"
Weer pijnlijk herkenbaar, dachten we meteen.
Zweig schrijft een warm portret over de filosoof "die aanvoelt als een vriend" met begripvolle aandacht voor de kleinere kantje van Montaigne en met tomeloos respect voor diens niet aflatende zoektocht naar "Hoe leef ik?" zonder daarop het aanmatigende antwoord "Zo moet je leven!" te formuleren.
De verwantschap die Zweig met de filosoof voelt, staat je als lezer toe beide erg goed te leren kennen op de amper 120 uitgewerkte bladzijden van de onvoltooide biografie die Zweig schreef aan de vooravond van zijn zelfgekozen dood.
Ronduit indrukwekkend, pijnlijk relevant, heerlijk leesbaar en nog een slotcitaat om het af te leren:
"De actualiteit heeft geen macht over je zolang je weigert eraan deel te nemen, de waanzin van de tijd leidt niet tot een crisis zolang je je helderheid van geest bewaart."
Zes sterren en talloze herdrukken aub.
March 30, 2021
This short biography gives a good overview of the life and main philosophic views of Montaigne.
His chaotic and eclectic education stamped his character and determined his writing style: essays which treat every subject that catches his interest. Here is a first point where I would have liked a more thorough approach and digging: the contradiction between on the one hand a rather Free and ‘uncommitted’ outlook with very profound insights in man’s psychology and motives.
Yes, Montaigne is admired for his open, non pre conditioned outlook, his balanced views but what in his youth enabled him to develop this way.
He retired in his Tower at the age of 38 for 10 years, wrote the first two books of essays and then decided to travel Europe, accept an offer for being Maire, which fell upon him completely unexpected and then finally played a key role in the conflict and transition between the catholic king Henry Iii and the Huguenots Henri Navarre later Henry IV. Also here the book gives little background for the profound transitions
Finally it is a complete mystery to me why he has such an unhappy marriage and had such a poor opinion concerning women. This for someone who stands as Socrates as epitome for wisdom. socrates who shared the same outlook on women
His chaotic and eclectic education stamped his character and determined his writing style: essays which treat every subject that catches his interest. Here is a first point where I would have liked a more thorough approach and digging: the contradiction between on the one hand a rather Free and ‘uncommitted’ outlook with very profound insights in man’s psychology and motives.
Yes, Montaigne is admired for his open, non pre conditioned outlook, his balanced views but what in his youth enabled him to develop this way.
He retired in his Tower at the age of 38 for 10 years, wrote the first two books of essays and then decided to travel Europe, accept an offer for being Maire, which fell upon him completely unexpected and then finally played a key role in the conflict and transition between the catholic king Henry Iii and the Huguenots Henri Navarre later Henry IV. Also here the book gives little background for the profound transitions
Finally it is a complete mystery to me why he has such an unhappy marriage and had such a poor opinion concerning women. This for someone who stands as Socrates as epitome for wisdom. socrates who shared the same outlook on women
February 2, 2019
Ο Στέφαν Τσβάιχ μελέτησε λεπτομερώς και σε βάθος τη ζωή και το έργο του Michel de Montaigne, μελέτη που είχε πραγματοποιήσει στο παρελθόν και για άλλες σημαντικές προσωπικότητες όπως ο Έρασμος.
Ωστόσο στις σελίδες αυτού του βιβλίου δεν επιχείρησε τη συστηματική καταγραφή της βιογραφίας του. Πρόκειται περισσότερο για ένα καθρέφτισμα των δικών του προβληματισμών σχετικά με την ταραχώδη εποχή της οποίας είναι μάρτυρας, στις σκέψεις του Μονταίνιου. Αναζητεί στους στοχασμούς του αναγεννησιακού δοκιμιογράφου, μια διαφυγή από το βάρος της εποχής του και από την πνευματική κατάπτωση την οποία βιώνει. Επικεντρώνεται λοιπόν και μεταφράζει υπό το πρίσμα αυτών των καταστάσεων, τις σκέψεις του Ουμανιστή Μονταίνιου περί συνεχούς αναζήτησης της προσωπικής ελευθερίας, της ανεμπόδιστης γνώσης και ανάπτυξης του εαυτού και της διαφύλαξης της διαύγειας της σκέψης σε ένα περιβάλλον που επιβάλλει το φανατισμό και ωθεί σε φρικαλεότητες την ανθρώπινη φύση.
"Όποιος σκέφτεται ελεύθερα για τον εαυτό του τιμά και σέβεται την ελευθερία σε όλη τη Γη. Άνευ όρων."
Ωστόσο στις σελίδες αυτού του βιβλίου δεν επιχείρησε τη συστηματική καταγραφή της βιογραφίας του. Πρόκειται περισσότερο για ένα καθρέφτισμα των δικών του προβληματισμών σχετικά με την ταραχώδη εποχή της οποίας είναι μάρτυρας, στις σκέψεις του Μονταίνιου. Αναζητεί στους στοχασμούς του αναγεννησιακού δοκιμιογράφου, μια διαφυγή από το βάρος της εποχής του και από την πνευματική κατάπτωση την οποία βιώνει. Επικεντρώνεται λοιπόν και μεταφράζει υπό το πρίσμα αυτών των καταστάσεων, τις σκέψεις του Ουμανιστή Μονταίνιου περί συνεχούς αναζήτησης της προσωπικής ελευθερίας, της ανεμπόδιστης γνώσης και ανάπτυξης του εαυτού και της διαφύλαξης της διαύγειας της σκέψης σε ένα περιβάλλον που επιβάλλει το φανατισμό και ωθεί σε φρικαλεότητες την ανθρώπινη φύση.
"Όποιος σκέφτεται ελεύθερα για τον εαυτό του τιμά και σέβεται την ελευθερία σε όλη τη Γη. Άνευ όρων."
November 3, 2018
Eher ein längerer Essay als eine Biographie, aber das äußere Leben Montaignes gab weniger her als bei Ersasmsus bzw. Castello gegen Calvin. Zweigs Einsichten gehen aber tiefer als bei den beiden anderen Biographien, zu denen das Montaigne-Buch viele Bezüge herstellt.
Ein Hauptschwerpunkt ist die kritische Auseinandersetzung mit Diktatoren, der Essay entstand zu einem Zeitpunkt als das Hitlerreich weite Teile Europas umfasste.
Ein Hauptschwerpunkt ist die kritische Auseinandersetzung mit Diktatoren, der Essay entstand zu einem Zeitpunkt als das Hitlerreich weite Teile Europas umfasste.
November 13, 2013
En los últimos días de su vida, retirado en un exilio forzoso, Stefan Zweig escribe -como puede- un ensayo apologético sobre la figura de Michel de Montaigne. Zweig conoció la barbarie del siglo XX y descubrió que su época estaba signada por un mal cada vez más invasivo: la pérdida de la libertad. En ese contexto, redescubre al ensayista francés con la significación que le provee la quizás más notoria actitud montaigneana: una resistencia casi absoluta a la cesión de la libertad individual hacia agentes externos.
Zwieg rescata, entonces, a Montaigne como símbolo de la fortaleza del sujeto ante aquellos factores que quieren hacer de él un instrumento para su conveniencia. Lo repite una y otra vez, con pasión convencida, y todo el ensayo se articula sobre ese núcleo de significado. Al tiempo que pretende componer una biografía, Zweig extrae de Montaigne un ejemplo moral que, extrapolado a la actualidad, permitiría generar un fármaco contra las nuevas formas de esclavitud auspiciadas por las sociedades modernas.
Este es un libro urgente, escrito bajo la presión del tiempo que se acaba, en muchos sentidos inacabado. Pero esa emergencia precaria (Zweig contaba apenas con bibliografía para consulta) se compensa con la energía emocional con la que el autor pergeña cada frase. Es el último esfuerzo antes del disparo suicida.
Finalmente, dos planos de lectura se superponen: como biografía, Montaigne se percibe acaso demasiado escueta, breve, insuficiente. Da cuenta apenas de los episodios fundamentales de la vida del hombre retratado; lo cual posiblemente haga de ella un texto idóneo como introducción a Montaigne. Pero una capa subyacente, que es a la que Zweig le interesa, imprime en verdad la potencia motivadora del texto: demostrar que la voluntad del hombre puede oponerse en cualquier época a fuerzas las tiránicas que intentan subyugarlo.
Zwieg rescata, entonces, a Montaigne como símbolo de la fortaleza del sujeto ante aquellos factores que quieren hacer de él un instrumento para su conveniencia. Lo repite una y otra vez, con pasión convencida, y todo el ensayo se articula sobre ese núcleo de significado. Al tiempo que pretende componer una biografía, Zweig extrae de Montaigne un ejemplo moral que, extrapolado a la actualidad, permitiría generar un fármaco contra las nuevas formas de esclavitud auspiciadas por las sociedades modernas.
Este es un libro urgente, escrito bajo la presión del tiempo que se acaba, en muchos sentidos inacabado. Pero esa emergencia precaria (Zweig contaba apenas con bibliografía para consulta) se compensa con la energía emocional con la que el autor pergeña cada frase. Es el último esfuerzo antes del disparo suicida.
Finalmente, dos planos de lectura se superponen: como biografía, Montaigne se percibe acaso demasiado escueta, breve, insuficiente. Da cuenta apenas de los episodios fundamentales de la vida del hombre retratado; lo cual posiblemente haga de ella un texto idóneo como introducción a Montaigne. Pero una capa subyacente, que es a la que Zweig le interesa, imprime en verdad la potencia motivadora del texto: demostrar que la voluntad del hombre puede oponerse en cualquier época a fuerzas las tiránicas que intentan subyugarlo.
June 19, 2020
In his Essays Montaigne sought, as he says on more than one occasion, to present nothing more or less than himself. He is the book; the book is Montaigne. And yet the Essays is a sort of mirror in which every reader finds his own image reflected. Perhaps it says something about the essential likeness of people that such varied readers can find in a book written by a leisured aristocrat in a stone tower 500 years ago a record of their own private self.
Stefan Zweig’s biography illustrates the point. Zweig was a Romantic (if you ask me), and so is his Montaigne. I never would have thought to compare Montaigne to Goethe but Zweig does it again and again. I recognize elements of the Montaigne I know in the portrait Zweig paints, but the features are curiously altered. I felt the same way reading Sarah Bakewell’s biography ten years ago. But things get awkward when Zweig praises the sage of Périgord in such hagiographical fashion. Whom does he praise, really? Montaigne as he was? Montaigne as he imagines him? Or does Zweig obliquely praise himself?
Will the real Michel de Montaigne please stand up?
But there’s a pathos to Zweig’s book. He wrote it in 1941 while living in exile near Rio de Janeiro, sunk in depression and horror at the barbarism of the war in Europe. It was here, late in life, that he read Montaigne for the first time. And it may have been his reading of the essay “A Custom of the Isle of Cea” that inspired his final act. In it Montaigne writes:
“[D]eath is not the remedy for just one malady, but the remedy for all ills. It is a very sure haven, which is never to be feared, and often to be sought… The most voluntary death is the fairest.”
It was not the path that Montaigne himself would take; he was slowly tortured to death by complications from kidney stones and on his deathbed received the last rites of the Church. But not long after returning the volumes of Montaigne which he’d borrowed from a friend, Zweig and his wife Lotte took an overdose of barbiturates and committed suicide in their bed, holding hands.
Stefan Zweig’s biography illustrates the point. Zweig was a Romantic (if you ask me), and so is his Montaigne. I never would have thought to compare Montaigne to Goethe but Zweig does it again and again. I recognize elements of the Montaigne I know in the portrait Zweig paints, but the features are curiously altered. I felt the same way reading Sarah Bakewell’s biography ten years ago. But things get awkward when Zweig praises the sage of Périgord in such hagiographical fashion. Whom does he praise, really? Montaigne as he was? Montaigne as he imagines him? Or does Zweig obliquely praise himself?
Will the real Michel de Montaigne please stand up?
But there’s a pathos to Zweig’s book. He wrote it in 1941 while living in exile near Rio de Janeiro, sunk in depression and horror at the barbarism of the war in Europe. It was here, late in life, that he read Montaigne for the first time. And it may have been his reading of the essay “A Custom of the Isle of Cea” that inspired his final act. In it Montaigne writes:
“[D]eath is not the remedy for just one malady, but the remedy for all ills. It is a very sure haven, which is never to be feared, and often to be sought… The most voluntary death is the fairest.”
It was not the path that Montaigne himself would take; he was slowly tortured to death by complications from kidney stones and on his deathbed received the last rites of the Church. But not long after returning the volumes of Montaigne which he’d borrowed from a friend, Zweig and his wife Lotte took an overdose of barbiturates and committed suicide in their bed, holding hands.
September 19, 2022
فقد أراد شيئًا يتعلّق به ويُجبر عليه نفسَه. ربما لم يكن مونتيني نفسه يعرف سبب ذلك، لكنّ إرادة باطنية كان تدفعه إلى أن يسلك هذا المسلك. كان هذه العـزلة هي البداية، لا أكثر. والآن وقد بدأ التوقّف عن العيش للآخرين، فقد بدأت حياة الإبداع الحقيقية.
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أحببته
October 18, 2020
Μια αποκάλυψη ακόμη από τον Stefan Zweig , ο Μονταίνιος. Δεν είναι καθόλου περίεργο που τον συνεπήρε η προσωπικότητα αυτή και καθόλου τυχαίο που ο Stefan Zweig αποτελεί μια από τις λογοτεχνικές μου αδυναμίες
October 22, 2018
MONTAIGNE
-Bir zamanlar Montaigne gibi bir insanın yaşamış olması, bütün şu yeryüzünde yaşamanın hazzını gerçekten artırıyor (Nietzsche).
MONTAIGNE,
-kendini vermeye her zaman hazırdır; kendini adamaya ise asla.
-kendi kişiliğinde, tüm zamanlar için geçerli insanı sergileyip anlatmıştır.
-Shakespeare'nin hocası, kralların danışmanı, kendi dilinin övünç kaynağı ve yeryüzündeki özgür düşüncenin koruyucusudur.
-en çok hoşlandığı şeyler, okumak, dostlarıyla tartışmak ve gezerek öğrenmektir.
-asıl zevki bulmak değil, aramaktır: YAŞAMIŞ ZENGİN RUHLARI ARAMAK.
-yazmak onun için yan üründür; asıl ürün ise HAYATIN KENDİSİ'dir.
MONTAIGNE'IN SÖZLERİNDEN:
-Birey, mevcut çılgınlar korosunda ötekilerle beraber tepinmeyi reddedip, KENDİNE AİT ÜLKESİNİ, yaşadığı zamanın ötesinde YARATMALIDIR.
-Kanımca KİTAPLAR, insanın HAYAT yolculuğunda yanına alabileceği en iyi BESİNLERDİR.
-Gençken kendini gösterebilmek için, orta yaşta bilge olabilmek için, sonrasında da kendisi ve istediği için OKUMAK; yani HAYATLA DİYALOĞA GİRMEK gerek.
-En büyük sanat, KENDİNİ AYAKTA TUTMA ve KENDİSİ OLARAK KALMA sanatıdır.
-HER YERDE OLMAK İSTEYEN HİÇBİR YERDE OLAMAZ.
-BEKLENENLERİN BULUNMAMASI DA HAYATIN BİR PARÇASI'dır.
-Başkalarına ihtiyacım yok; benim, yargılarına boyun eğdiğim kendi yasalarım ve kendi mahkemem vardır.
-Bir zamanlar Montaigne gibi bir insanın yaşamış olması, bütün şu yeryüzünde yaşamanın hazzını gerçekten artırıyor (Nietzsche).
MONTAIGNE,
-kendini vermeye her zaman hazırdır; kendini adamaya ise asla.
-kendi kişiliğinde, tüm zamanlar için geçerli insanı sergileyip anlatmıştır.
-Shakespeare'nin hocası, kralların danışmanı, kendi dilinin övünç kaynağı ve yeryüzündeki özgür düşüncenin koruyucusudur.
-en çok hoşlandığı şeyler, okumak, dostlarıyla tartışmak ve gezerek öğrenmektir.
-asıl zevki bulmak değil, aramaktır: YAŞAMIŞ ZENGİN RUHLARI ARAMAK.
-yazmak onun için yan üründür; asıl ürün ise HAYATIN KENDİSİ'dir.
MONTAIGNE'IN SÖZLERİNDEN:
-Birey, mevcut çılgınlar korosunda ötekilerle beraber tepinmeyi reddedip, KENDİNE AİT ÜLKESİNİ, yaşadığı zamanın ötesinde YARATMALIDIR.
-Kanımca KİTAPLAR, insanın HAYAT yolculuğunda yanına alabileceği en iyi BESİNLERDİR.
-Gençken kendini gösterebilmek için, orta yaşta bilge olabilmek için, sonrasında da kendisi ve istediği için OKUMAK; yani HAYATLA DİYALOĞA GİRMEK gerek.
-En büyük sanat, KENDİNİ AYAKTA TUTMA ve KENDİSİ OLARAK KALMA sanatıdır.
-HER YERDE OLMAK İSTEYEN HİÇBİR YERDE OLAMAZ.
-BEKLENENLERİN BULUNMAMASI DA HAYATIN BİR PARÇASI'dır.
-Başkalarına ihtiyacım yok; benim, yargılarına boyun eğdiğim kendi yasalarım ve kendi mahkemem vardır.
September 19, 2022
3,5 yıldız.
Stefan Zweig'in yaşadığı korkunç döneme katlanabilmek için büyük hümanist kabul ettiği kişiler üzerine yazdığı denemelerden biri de bu kitap. Yazar, Michel de Montaigne'in kaderi ile kendi çağdaşı olan sanatçıların hayatı arasında özdeşlik kurduğunu açıkça söylemiş. Bu anlayış metne hem oldukça özgün hem de taraflı bir bakış açısı kazandırıyor.
Stefan Zweig Montaigne'i anlamaya çalışıyor ama abartılı biçimde yapıyor bunu. Çok önemsediği bir konu olan insanın özünü koruma hususunda Montaigne'in sahip olduğu ayrıcalıkların (zengin bir aile, yüksek idari makamlarda görevler, iyi bir eğitim, güçlü bağlantılar) önemini yeterince tartışmıyor. Övgü amacıyla yazılmış bir metin olduğunu baştan kabul etsem de her şey sınıfsal diye düşünmekten alamıyorum kendimi.
Anlatım dili harika. Bu metni Türkçe'ye büyük ustalıkla aktaran çevirmen Ahmet Cemal Bey'i rahmetle anmak isterim. Bu aslında yazarın ölümüyle yarım kalan bir metin. Gerektiği yerde İngilizce ve Fransızca orijinal cümleler ve açıklamalar şeklinde verilen dipnotlar bir nevi kitabın eksikliklerini kapatmaya yardımcı oluyor. Dizi editörü Emrah Serdan ve editör Şebnem Sunar'ın da hakkını teslim etmek lazım.
Düşünce dünyası ile ilgili ufak eleştirilerim olsa da önemsediğim konular üzerine yazan yetenekli bir edebiyatçı olan Stefan Zweig'ın eserlerini okumaya devam edeceğim.
Stefan Zweig'in yaşadığı korkunç döneme katlanabilmek için büyük hümanist kabul ettiği kişiler üzerine yazdığı denemelerden biri de bu kitap. Yazar, Michel de Montaigne'in kaderi ile kendi çağdaşı olan sanatçıların hayatı arasında özdeşlik kurduğunu açıkça söylemiş. Bu anlayış metne hem oldukça özgün hem de taraflı bir bakış açısı kazandırıyor.
Stefan Zweig Montaigne'i anlamaya çalışıyor ama abartılı biçimde yapıyor bunu. Çok önemsediği bir konu olan insanın özünü koruma hususunda Montaigne'in sahip olduğu ayrıcalıkların (zengin bir aile, yüksek idari makamlarda görevler, iyi bir eğitim, güçlü bağlantılar) önemini yeterince tartışmıyor. Övgü amacıyla yazılmış bir metin olduğunu baştan kabul etsem de her şey sınıfsal diye düşünmekten alamıyorum kendimi.
Anlatım dili harika. Bu metni Türkçe'ye büyük ustalıkla aktaran çevirmen Ahmet Cemal Bey'i rahmetle anmak isterim. Bu aslında yazarın ölümüyle yarım kalan bir metin. Gerektiği yerde İngilizce ve Fransızca orijinal cümleler ve açıklamalar şeklinde verilen dipnotlar bir nevi kitabın eksikliklerini kapatmaya yardımcı oluyor. Dizi editörü Emrah Serdan ve editör Şebnem Sunar'ın da hakkını teslim etmek lazım.
Düşünce dünyası ile ilgili ufak eleştirilerim olsa da önemsediğim konular üzerine yazan yetenekli bir edebiyatçı olan Stefan Zweig'ın eserlerini okumaya devam edeceğim.
October 6, 2016
No hay nadie mejor que Stefan Zweig, ese vienés omnisapiente al que todo el mundo debería leer, para escribir una biografía sobre una figura tan inmensa como lo fue Montaigne. Sin pretensiones y tiñéndola de grandes reflexiones sobre sus propias circunstancias —exiliado en Brasil durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial—, es probablemente uno de los estudios biográficos más amenos que he leído nunca.
December 26, 2025
A gorgeous and evocative mini biography. Absolutely loved it!
Even better in re-read but audio version is not the best. Recommend reading it instead.
Even better in re-read but audio version is not the best. Recommend reading it instead.
Read
November 14, 2022In such epochs where the highest values of life—our peace, our independence, our basic rights, all that makes our existence more pure, more beautiful, all that justifies it—are sacrificed to the demon inhabiting a dozen fanatics and ideologues, all the problems of the man who fears for his humanity come down to the same question: how to remain free?
Among Zweig’s last few works, his biography of Montaigne (1941), in which as translator Will Stone points out, Zweig takes ‘a more or less conventional biographical route’, nonetheless gives the reader insights into both the subject of the biography, Michel de Montaigne and Zweig himself, through Montaigne’s ideas that resonated with him, given the time he was living in. The introduction by Stone helps the reader contextualize and identify the connections and influences between biographer and subject.
While Zweig had read Montaigne as a young man, his thoughts came to hold relevance and meaning only later in life when the circumstances in which he was living had changed; ‘freedom and tolerance’ which seemed ‘assured’ when he was young, were no longer so. Thus, it was when Zweig was living in Brazil and reread Montaigne’s Essais that he felt that ‘fraternity’ and decided to write a biography, throwing himself into research, helped among others by Fortunat Strowski, a specialist on Montaigne who lent Zweig his books and expertise.
Montaigne had a rather interesting life, living within the parameters of society and yet in his own frame, doing all of the usual things, yet also some unusual ones; sometimes in favour with society and sought, at others side-lined. Born in the Chateau de Montaigne (and the only one to hold that name for his family name was Eyquem), he belonged to a wealthy family, but one which had worked its way up from humbler circumstances as fish merchants. As a child, his father chose to ground him by sending him to live his first few years in a peasant’s home; but after his return, both his initial upbringing and education turned out both to his advantage (for instance, he was taught Latin by everyone around him speaking to him in Latin and nothing else, contrary to the harsher education methods common at the time) and disadvantage (his inability to adjust to rote learning when he was sent to school, or indeed to deal with the practical management of his estate when it came upon him to do so; in fact, he awaits the marriage of his then new-born daughter so that his son-in-law can take over all responsibility).
Montaigne serves in public life, gets married, has children, but by the age of 38, is disillusioned by all and retires to a tower in his chateau, where he wants to devote his life to reading and to discovering himself (no easy pursuit; he seeks both the ‘I in self’ as well as the ‘human’). But then, 10 years later, after spending his time in relative seclusion (never a complete recluse) and publishing two volumes of his Essais, he realises that perhaps he has become ‘fossilized … narrow and mediocre’, that ‘his soul cannot remain in peace, when the world beyond is in uproar’. He then decides to set off on a journey, this time simply going where the road takes him (rather than for a purpose), only to be summoned back 18 months later to once again resume public responsibility. In this he faces some disgrace (abandoning Bordeaux, of which he is mayor during a bout of plague) but also great responsibility as negotiator between Henry de Navarre and Henry III.
Montaigne’s life was certainly unusual and interesting to read about and I very much enjoyed the portrait that Zweig has put together. What really stood out for me, however, was Zweig’s introductory chapter where he discusses Montaigne’s thoughts and ideas in the context of Montaigne’s time which applied equally at the time Zweig was writing, and which I felt continue to hold the same relevance today. Through science and technology, the world is becoming more connected (‘Distances, borders between people were beginning to dissolve…’), nature’s ‘secrets’ are being revealed (though perhaps, humans think they have done so more than they really have for when nature acts or reacts, humans continue to be helpless), yet ‘instead of humanism, it was intolerance that spread’. Around Montaigne is a ‘mob frenzy of fury and hate’, citizens are killing citizens (on various pretexts) until a point where the murder continues and all pretext (even religion) is dispensed with. Not much different from the atmosphere of hate and intolerance that prevails in the present. It is in this environment that Montaigne ponders on how he can preserve his true self (as does Zweig who like Montaigne is struggling with the world he is living in) for
Nothing can lower or raise yourself from outside; that which remains inwardly free and sincere easily defeats the strongest pressure from the exterior.
For Zweig (and Montaigne) one answer lies in seeking certitude beyond the homeland, in exile perhaps; but in our own present even that seems not much of an option for all the world around is experiencing pretty much the same.
These grave though relevant thoughts aside, I also very much enjoyed the chapter titled ‘The Creative Decade’ which reflects on Montaigne’s time in his tower and his relationship with books; another set of ideas which very much resonated with me, as
For him books are not like men, who impose themselves and burden him with their chatter, and of whom, it is hard to be rid.
Instead, he can converse with them as he chooses to do; and so he does, approaching them on his terms, not as a scholar or with any obligation, but reading what appeals to him, what leads him to think, which sharpen his faculty of judgement. Among his favourites are poetry and history (biography in particular). And this is the approach he takes in his later travels too!
In his rather interesting life, which Montaigne manages to live to some extent on his own terms, while at the same time struggling through and even contributing to family, social life, and the politics of his time, and in his contribution to thought through the three volumes of his Essais, Montaigne’s story as told by Zweig gives its readers much to enjoy as well as ponder, for even if he may have had his flaws, Montaigne’s ideas continue to hold relevance today, and sadly will probably do so in times to come as well. This has definitely left me inspired to pick up the Essais, as also more of Zweig’s bios of which this was the first I read.
Among Zweig’s last few works, his biography of Montaigne (1941), in which as translator Will Stone points out, Zweig takes ‘a more or less conventional biographical route’, nonetheless gives the reader insights into both the subject of the biography, Michel de Montaigne and Zweig himself, through Montaigne’s ideas that resonated with him, given the time he was living in. The introduction by Stone helps the reader contextualize and identify the connections and influences between biographer and subject.
While Zweig had read Montaigne as a young man, his thoughts came to hold relevance and meaning only later in life when the circumstances in which he was living had changed; ‘freedom and tolerance’ which seemed ‘assured’ when he was young, were no longer so. Thus, it was when Zweig was living in Brazil and reread Montaigne’s Essais that he felt that ‘fraternity’ and decided to write a biography, throwing himself into research, helped among others by Fortunat Strowski, a specialist on Montaigne who lent Zweig his books and expertise.
Montaigne had a rather interesting life, living within the parameters of society and yet in his own frame, doing all of the usual things, yet also some unusual ones; sometimes in favour with society and sought, at others side-lined. Born in the Chateau de Montaigne (and the only one to hold that name for his family name was Eyquem), he belonged to a wealthy family, but one which had worked its way up from humbler circumstances as fish merchants. As a child, his father chose to ground him by sending him to live his first few years in a peasant’s home; but after his return, both his initial upbringing and education turned out both to his advantage (for instance, he was taught Latin by everyone around him speaking to him in Latin and nothing else, contrary to the harsher education methods common at the time) and disadvantage (his inability to adjust to rote learning when he was sent to school, or indeed to deal with the practical management of his estate when it came upon him to do so; in fact, he awaits the marriage of his then new-born daughter so that his son-in-law can take over all responsibility).
Montaigne serves in public life, gets married, has children, but by the age of 38, is disillusioned by all and retires to a tower in his chateau, where he wants to devote his life to reading and to discovering himself (no easy pursuit; he seeks both the ‘I in self’ as well as the ‘human’). But then, 10 years later, after spending his time in relative seclusion (never a complete recluse) and publishing two volumes of his Essais, he realises that perhaps he has become ‘fossilized … narrow and mediocre’, that ‘his soul cannot remain in peace, when the world beyond is in uproar’. He then decides to set off on a journey, this time simply going where the road takes him (rather than for a purpose), only to be summoned back 18 months later to once again resume public responsibility. In this he faces some disgrace (abandoning Bordeaux, of which he is mayor during a bout of plague) but also great responsibility as negotiator between Henry de Navarre and Henry III.
Montaigne’s life was certainly unusual and interesting to read about and I very much enjoyed the portrait that Zweig has put together. What really stood out for me, however, was Zweig’s introductory chapter where he discusses Montaigne’s thoughts and ideas in the context of Montaigne’s time which applied equally at the time Zweig was writing, and which I felt continue to hold the same relevance today. Through science and technology, the world is becoming more connected (‘Distances, borders between people were beginning to dissolve…’), nature’s ‘secrets’ are being revealed (though perhaps, humans think they have done so more than they really have for when nature acts or reacts, humans continue to be helpless), yet ‘instead of humanism, it was intolerance that spread’. Around Montaigne is a ‘mob frenzy of fury and hate’, citizens are killing citizens (on various pretexts) until a point where the murder continues and all pretext (even religion) is dispensed with. Not much different from the atmosphere of hate and intolerance that prevails in the present. It is in this environment that Montaigne ponders on how he can preserve his true self (as does Zweig who like Montaigne is struggling with the world he is living in) for
Nothing can lower or raise yourself from outside; that which remains inwardly free and sincere easily defeats the strongest pressure from the exterior.
For Zweig (and Montaigne) one answer lies in seeking certitude beyond the homeland, in exile perhaps; but in our own present even that seems not much of an option for all the world around is experiencing pretty much the same.
These grave though relevant thoughts aside, I also very much enjoyed the chapter titled ‘The Creative Decade’ which reflects on Montaigne’s time in his tower and his relationship with books; another set of ideas which very much resonated with me, as
For him books are not like men, who impose themselves and burden him with their chatter, and of whom, it is hard to be rid.
Instead, he can converse with them as he chooses to do; and so he does, approaching them on his terms, not as a scholar or with any obligation, but reading what appeals to him, what leads him to think, which sharpen his faculty of judgement. Among his favourites are poetry and history (biography in particular). And this is the approach he takes in his later travels too!
In his rather interesting life, which Montaigne manages to live to some extent on his own terms, while at the same time struggling through and even contributing to family, social life, and the politics of his time, and in his contribution to thought through the three volumes of his Essais, Montaigne’s story as told by Zweig gives its readers much to enjoy as well as ponder, for even if he may have had his flaws, Montaigne’s ideas continue to hold relevance today, and sadly will probably do so in times to come as well. This has definitely left me inspired to pick up the Essais, as also more of Zweig’s bios of which this was the first I read.
December 30, 2017
I’ve read around Montaigne and now have tackled a bit of his writing with the delicate and sensitive help of Zweig. This book is a fine meditation on a freethinker’s life— especially for our chaotic days.
“He who thinks freely for himself, honors all freedom on earth.”
and conversely, “Que sais-je?”
“He who thinks freely for himself, honors all freedom on earth.”
and conversely, “Que sais-je?”
September 10, 2020
Absolutely outstanding. I challenge you not to love it. Profound, informal and erudite. Great writing.
July 25, 2025
"يهبط كلام مونتيني وتتنزّل حكمته على القلب دوماً مثل النعمة المسداة…إن هي إلا ساعة أو نصف ساعة من تقليب أوراق كتاب مونتيني حتى تعثر على كلمة راجحة تواسي قلبك."
إن من يقرأ لمونتيني نفسه لن يحب القراءة عن مونتيني بعد ذلك، ولعل هذا الرأي رأيي وحدي ولا ضير، لكنني مع ذلك أحب قلم زفايغ كما أحب قلم مونتيني، برغم ما بين الكاتبَين من كثير الفروق التي تمّحي عند نقاطهما المشتركة، وأهمها حب الإنسانية والتجدد المستمر والنزوع إلى التشويق وسرعة السأم والضيق بالقيود والغرام بالحرية والانطلاق.
هاكم مني حكماً أدبياً قد لا يكون حظه من القبول لديكم ومن الصحة لدى النقاد حظاً كبيراً، ومع ذلك فهو حكم صدر عن إنسان أحبّ «المقالات» وكاتبها وكانت لها أثر طيب في حياته ونفسه.
يقول مونتيني عن كتابه:"إنما أرسم فيه نفسي، وستبدو فيه عيوبي عارية مكشوفة…إني أنا نفسي مادة كتابي أيها القارئ…"
إن كاتبنا الفذّ أعلن لنا إعلاناً، أن كتابه بما فيه من وثبات القلم والفكر ليس مبحثه الأول وعنوان فصوله العريض إلا الذات المونتينية، أفلا ترون معي أن خير وسيلة للتعرّف بمونتيني هي قراءة كتابه الذي كشف فيه عن كثير من دخيلة نفسه وطريقة تفكيره وسيرته؟ وما "هي إلا ساعة أو نصف ساعة من تقليب أوراق الكتاب" حتى ينكشف لك إنسان من أصدق الناس وأرقّهم قلباً، لا تكاد ترى فيه شخص النبيل الأرستقراطي والنافذ والسياسي الذي كان يبدو لأهل عصره، بل ترى رجلاً حصيفاً واسع التجربة والاطلاع يطبق ما أسماه ز��ايغ "علم النفس الذاتي"!
وبعدُ فلا تروقني الكتابات عن مونتيني برغم كثرتها وجودة أقلام من كتبوها، لأن الكاتب يريد الكتابة عنه وخلق صورة له ثم إذا به لا يكتب عن مونتيني ولا يصوّره بل يكتب ويصوّر نفسه هو، لأن مونتيني يقترب منا جميعاً فيحسب كل واحد منا أنه ظفر به!
شيء يريبني دائماً من ستيفان زفايغ في تناوله للأعلام، ألا وهو أنه يجعل من سيرهم أدواتٍ يوجه بها رسائله لعصره الذي تغلبت فيه النازية، حتى ليلوي عنق السيرة في سبيل ذلك(ولا بأس فهو فنان وليس مؤرخاً). انظروا كيف يصور مونتيني رجلاً ليبرالياً إنسانياً متسامحاً خلواً من الانحيازات والميول (القيم المنعدمة في عصر زفايغ والتي كان يدعو إليها)، مع أن قارئ «المقالات» سرعان ما يتبين له أن صاحبها موالٍ للبلاط شديد الولاء للملك (ليس كما قال زفايغ) ويذم محاولات التغيير ويكثر من التعريض بالبروتستانت، بل إنه مرةً أنحى باللوم على كل محاولة للإصلاح إذا كانت تخلخل ثوابت نظام الحياة والمجتمع ولو كان فاسداً. هذه آراء صريحة لمونتيني لم أره عدل عنها قطّ، وإن كان في النهاية طاهر الذيل من التعصب كارهاً للإقصاء مفضّلاً السلام والتسامح.
إن من يقرأ لمونتيني نفسه لن يحب القراءة عن مونتيني بعد ذلك، ولعل هذا الرأي رأيي وحدي ولا ضير، لكنني مع ذلك أحب قلم زفايغ كما أحب قلم مونتيني، برغم ما بين الكاتبَين من كثير الفروق التي تمّحي عند نقاطهما المشتركة، وأهمها حب الإنسانية والتجدد المستمر والنزوع إلى التشويق وسرعة السأم والضيق بالقيود والغرام بالحرية والانطلاق.
هاكم مني حكماً أدبياً قد لا يكون حظه من القبول لديكم ومن الصحة لدى النقاد حظاً كبيراً، ومع ذلك فهو حكم صدر عن إنسان أحبّ «المقالات» وكاتبها وكانت لها أثر طيب في حياته ونفسه.
يقول مونتيني عن كتابه:"إنما أرسم فيه نفسي، وستبدو فيه عيوبي عارية مكشوفة…إني أنا نفسي مادة كتابي أيها القارئ…"
إن كاتبنا الفذّ أعلن لنا إعلاناً، أن كتابه بما فيه من وثبات القلم والفكر ليس مبحثه الأول وعنوان فصوله العريض إلا الذات المونتينية، أفلا ترون معي أن خير وسيلة للتعرّف بمونتيني هي قراءة كتابه الذي كشف فيه عن كثير من دخيلة نفسه وطريقة تفكيره وسيرته؟ وما "هي إلا ساعة أو نصف ساعة من تقليب أوراق الكتاب" حتى ينكشف لك إنسان من أصدق الناس وأرقّهم قلباً، لا تكاد ترى فيه شخص النبيل الأرستقراطي والنافذ والسياسي الذي كان يبدو لأهل عصره، بل ترى رجلاً حصيفاً واسع التجربة والاطلاع يطبق ما أسماه ز��ايغ "علم النفس الذاتي"!
وبعدُ فلا تروقني الكتابات عن مونتيني برغم كثرتها وجودة أقلام من كتبوها، لأن الكاتب يريد الكتابة عنه وخلق صورة له ثم إذا به لا يكتب عن مونتيني ولا يصوّره بل يكتب ويصوّر نفسه هو، لأن مونتيني يقترب منا جميعاً فيحسب كل واحد منا أنه ظفر به!
شيء يريبني دائماً من ستيفان زفايغ في تناوله للأعلام، ألا وهو أنه يجعل من سيرهم أدواتٍ يوجه بها رسائله لعصره الذي تغلبت فيه النازية، حتى ليلوي عنق السيرة في سبيل ذلك(ولا بأس فهو فنان وليس مؤرخاً). انظروا كيف يصور مونتيني رجلاً ليبرالياً إنسانياً متسامحاً خلواً من الانحيازات والميول (القيم المنعدمة في عصر زفايغ والتي كان يدعو إليها)، مع أن قارئ «المقالات» سرعان ما يتبين له أن صاحبها موالٍ للبلاط شديد الولاء للملك (ليس كما قال زفايغ) ويذم محاولات التغيير ويكثر من التعريض بالبروتستانت، بل إنه مرةً أنحى باللوم على كل محاولة للإصلاح إذا كانت تخلخل ثوابت نظام الحياة والمجتمع ولو كان فاسداً. هذه آراء صريحة لمونتيني لم أره عدل عنها قطّ، وإن كان في النهاية طاهر الذيل من التعصب كارهاً للإقصاء مفضّلاً السلام والتسامح.
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