A survey of one of the giants of Renaissance thought, The Essays: A
Selection collects some of Michel de Montaigne's most startling and
original works, translated from the French and edited with an
introduction and notes by M.A. Screech in Penguin Classics. To overcome
a crisis of melancholy after the death of his father, Montaigne withdrew
to his country estates and began to write, and in the highly original
essays that resulted he discussed themes such as fathers and children,
conscience and cowardice, coaches and cannibals, and, above all,
himself. On Some Lines of Virgil opens out into a frank discussion of
sexuality and makes a revolutionary case for the equality of the sexes.
In On Experience he superbly propounds his thoughts on the right way to
live, while other essays touch on issues of an age struggling with
religious and intellectual strife, with France torn apart by civil war.
These diverse subjects are united by Montaigne's distinctive voice -
that of a tolerant man, sceptical, humane, often humorous and utterly
honest in his pursuit of the truth. M.A. Screech's distinguished
translation fully retains the light-hearted and inquiring nature of the
essays. In his introduction, he examines Montaigne's life and times, and
the remarkable self-portrait that emerges from his works. Michel de
Montaigne (1533-1586) studied law and spent a number of years working as
a counsellor before devoting his life to reading, writing and
reflection. If you enjoyed The Essays: A Selection, you might like
Francis Bacon's The Essays, also available in Penguin Classics.
