The Complete Essays

I love reading Montaigne. Montaigne offers a wide window into the human experience.

He combines a grand knowledge of literary tradition with incredibly insightful commentary on human psychology. His focus on the outlier and the extraordinary in his observations and short essays (e.g., the cannibals in early modern Brazil) challenge our suppositions about the world.

He served as mayor of his local city of Bordeaux for several years, and while he expresses some skepticism toward the good that grand politics can do, he still encourages his readers to seek to better their world in the ways that are available to… show more.

In the 16th century, Montaigne literally invented the concept of an essay, literally, “essais” or attempts, attempts to find answers rather than treatises that present the answers ready-made.

I feel that rather than trying to sell a particular view, Montaigne invites me as a reader into his wandering thoughts, looping back and forth through his wonderful ideas. Montaigne is skeptical of conventional wisdom but also skeptical of his, our, my, ability to surpass conventional wisdom. Are we as much smarter than foxes as we think? Are cannibals more civilized than the French?

Montaigne feels like my intimate friend, my partner… show more.