De Montaigne, Michel. Essays The Folio Society, London 2019
Michel de Montaigne, a semi-nobleman in 16th century France, singlehandedly created the personal essay, a literary form that allows for subjective assessments of the world around you. Montaigne's work can be flipped through at random, each essay--indeed each component of each essay--providing a starkly honest look into the mind of a devout Catholic (this in a time of Catholic/Protestant warfare in France) who was also a profound skeptic, a man with too deep an understanding of human nature to expect sudden miracles or to doubt the inevitability of both joy and tragedy.
Some essays particularly stand out for the casual reader: "On idleness", On fear", "On affectionate relationships", "On the Cannibals", "On cruelty", and "On some lines of Virgil". Indeed, classical writers and philosophers played a major role in Montaigne's thinking, and quotes from Greece and Rome sparkle throughout the essays.
This 420-page edition is from the inestimable Folio Society, the finest bookmakers in English, and is translated by the revered M.A. Screech of Oxford. The page edges are subtly golden, and the spine--dark blue with gold print, looks wonderful in its calm red slipcase.
Montaigne's invaluable insights and openly honest perspective of the human condition changed both writing and philosophy forever. Along with the King James Bible and the collected Shakespeare, this volume would make for an entrancing and adventurous companion on a desert island.
Some essays particularly stand out for the casual reader: "On idleness", On fear", "On affectionate relationships", "On the Cannibals", "On cruelty", and "On some lines of Virgil". Indeed, classical writers and philosophers played a major role in Montaigne's thinking, and quotes from Greece and Rome sparkle throughout the essays.
This 420-page edition is from the inestimable Folio Society, the finest bookmakers in English, and is translated by the revered M.A. Screech of Oxford. The page edges are subtly golden, and the spine--dark blue with gold print, looks wonderful in its calm red slipcase.
Montaigne's invaluable insights and openly honest perspective of the human condition changed both writing and philosophy forever. Along with the King James Bible and the collected Shakespeare, this volume would make for an entrancing and adventurous companion on a desert island.