Michael Montaigne
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Michel Eyquem,
Seigneur A seigneur () or lord is an originally feudal title in France before the Revolution, in New France and British North America until 1854, and in the Channel Islands to this day. The seigneur owned a seigneurie, seigneury, or lordship—a form of ...
de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 â€“ 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the
French Renaissance The French Renaissance was the cultural and artistic movement in France between the 15th and early 17th centuries. The period is associated with the pan-European Renaissance, a word first used by the French historian Jules Michelet to define ...
. He is known for popularising the
essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...
as a
literary genre A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by List of narrative techniques, literary technique, Tone (literature), tone, Media (communication), content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from mor ...
. His work is noted for its merging of casual
anecdote An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Anecdotes may be real ...
s and autobiography with intellectual insight. Montaigne had a direct influence on numerous writers of
Western literature Western literature, also known as European literature, is the literature written in the context of Western culture in the languages of Europe, and is shaped by the periods in which they were conceived, with each period containing prominent weste ...
in the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to various nations and state (polity), states in Western Europe, Northern America, and Australasia; with some debate as to whether those in Eastern Europe and Latin America also const ...
; his '' Essais'' contain some of the most influential essays ever written. During his 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 came to be recognised as embodying the spirit of freely entertaining doubt that began to emerge at that time. He is most famously known for his sceptical remark, "" ("What do I know?", in
Middle French Middle French () is a historical division of the French language that covers the period from the mid-14th to the early 17th centuries. It is a period of transition during which: * the French language became clearly distinguished from the other co ...
; "" in modern French).


Biography


Family, childhood and education

Montaigne was born in the
Guyenne Guyenne or Guienne ( , ; ) was an old French province which corresponded roughly to the Roman province of '' Aquitania Secunda'' and the Catholic archdiocese of Bordeaux. Name The name "Guyenne" comes from ''Aguyenne'', a popular transform ...
(
Aquitaine Aquitaine (, ; ; ; ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne (), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former Regions of France, administrative region. Since 1 January 2016 it has been part of the administ ...
) region of France, on the family estate
Château de Montaigne The Château de Montaigne is a castle mansion situated on the borders of Périgord and Bordelais, near Bergerac and Saint-Émilion, in the small '' commune'' of Saint-Michel-de-Montaigne in the Dordogne ''département'' of France. The struct ...
in a town now called Saint-Michel-de-Montaigne, close to
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
. The family was very wealthy. His great-grandfather Ramon Felipe Eyquem had made a fortune as a herring merchant and had bought the estate in 1477, thus becoming the Lord of Montaigne. His father, Pierre Eyquem, Seigneur of Montaigne, was a French Catholic soldier in Italy for a time and had also been the mayor of Bordeaux. Although there were several families bearing the
patronym A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, ...
"Eyquem" in Guyenne, his father's family is thought to have had some degree of
Marrano ''Marranos'' is a term for Spanish and Portuguese Jews, as well as Navarrese jews, who converted to Christianity, either voluntarily or by Spanish or Portuguese royal coercion, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but who continued t ...
(Spanish and Portuguese Jewish) origins, while his mother, Antoinette López de Villanueva, was a convert to Protestantism. His maternal grandfather, Pedro López, from
Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...
, was from a wealthy
Marrano ''Marranos'' is a term for Spanish and Portuguese Jews, as well as Navarrese jews, who converted to Christianity, either voluntarily or by Spanish or Portuguese royal coercion, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but who continued t ...
(
Sephardic Jewish Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...
) family, that had converted to Catholicism. His maternal grandmother, Honorette Dupuy, was from a Catholic family in
Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...
, France. During a great part of Montaigne's life his mother lived near him, and even survived him; but she is mentioned only twice in his essays. Montaigne's relationship with his father, however, is frequently reflected upon and discussed in his essays. Montaigne's education began in early childhood and followed a pedagogical plan that his father had developed, refined by the advice of the latter's
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
friends. Soon after his birth Montaigne was brought to a small cottage, where he lived the first three years of life in the sole company of a peasant family, in order to, according to the elder Montaigne, "draw the boy close to the people, and to the life conditions of the people, who need our help". After these first spartan years Montaigne was brought back to the château. Another objective was for
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
to become his first language. The intellectual education of Montaigne was assigned to a German tutor (a doctor named Horstanus, who could not speak French). His father hired only servants who could speak Latin, and they also were given strict orders always to speak to the boy in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
. The same rule applied to his mother, father, and servants, who were obliged to use only Latin words he employed; and thus they acquired a knowledge of the very language his tutor taught him. Montaigne's Latin education was accompanied by constant intellectual and spiritual stimulation. He was familiarised with
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
by a pedagogical method that employed games, conversation, and exercises of solitary meditation, rather than the more traditional books. The atmosphere of his upbringing engendered in him a spirit of "liberty and delight" that he would later describe as making him "relish...duty by an unforced will, and of my own voluntary motion...without any severity or constraint". His father had a musician wake him every morning, playing one instrument or another; and an '' epinettier'' (player of a type of
zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...
) was the constant companion to Montaigne and his tutor, playing tunes to alleviate boredom and tiredness. Around 1539 Montaigne was sent to study at a highly regarded
boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...
in Bordeaux, the College of Guienne, then under the direction of the greatest Latin scholar of the era,
George Buchanan George Buchanan (; February 1506 – 28 September 1582) was a Scottish historian and humanist scholar. According to historian Keith Brown, Buchanan was "the most profound intellectual sixteenth-century Scotland produced." His ideology of re ...
, where he mastered the whole curriculum by his thirteenth year. He finished the first phase of his educational studies at the College in 1546. He then began his study of law (his
alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...
remains unknown, since there are no certainties about his activity from 1546 to 1557) and entered a career in the local legal system.


Career and marriage

Montaigne was a counselor of the Court des Aides of
Périgueux Périgueux (, ; or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is also the seat of ...
, and in 1557 he was appointed counselor of the
Parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...
in Bordeaux, a high court. From 1561 to 1563 he was
courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...
at the court of Charles IX, and he was present with the king at the
siege of Rouen (1562) Siege of Rouen may refer to: *Siege of Rouen (1143-44), the siege and capture of the town by Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou *Siege of Rouen (1204), the siege and capture of the town and castle by the French during the French annexation of No ...
. He was awarded the highest honour of the
French nobility The French nobility () was an Aristocracy, aristocratic social class in France from the France in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First French Empire, ...
, the collar of the
Order of Saint Michael The Order of Saint Michael () is a French dynastic order of chivalry, founded by King Louis XI of France on 1 August 1469, in response to the Order of the Golden Fleece founded by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, Louis' chief competitor fo ...
. While serving at the Bordeaux Parlement, he became a very close friend of the humanist poet
Étienne de La Boétie Étienne or Estienne de La Boétie (; ; 1 November 1530 – 18 August 1563) was a French magistrate, classicist, writer, poet and political theorist, best remembered for his friendship with essayist Michel de Montaigne. His early political trea ...
, whose death in 1563 deeply affected Montaigne. It has been suggested by Donald M. Frame in his introduction to ''The Complete Essays of Montaigne'' that because of Montaigne's "imperious need to communicate", after losing Étienne, he began the '' Essais'' as a new "means of communication", and that "the reader takes the place of the dead friend". Montaigne married Françoise de la Cassaigne in 1565, probably in an
arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...
. She was the daughter and niece of wealthy merchants of Toulouse and Bordeaux. They had six daughters, but only the second-born, Léonor, survived infancy. He wrote very little about the relationship with his wife, and little is known about their marriage. Of his daughter Léonor he wrote: "All my children die at nurse; but Léonore, our only daughter, who has escaped this misfortune, has reached the age of six and more, without having been punished, the indulgence of her mother aiding, except in words, and those very gentle ones." His daughter married François de la Tour and later Charles de Gamaches. She had a daughter by each.


Writing

Following the petition of his father, Montaigne started to work on the first translation of the Catalan monk Raymond Sebond's '' Theologia naturalis'', which he published a year after his father's death in 1568 (in 1595 Sebond's Prologue was put on the ''
Index Librorum Prohibitorum The (English: ''Index of Forbidden Books'') was a changing list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former dicastery of the Roman Curia); Catholics were forbidden to print or re ...
'' because of its declaration that the Bible is not the only source of
revealed truth Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and theology. Types Individual revelation Thomas A ...
). Montaigne also published a posthumous edition of the works of his friend, Boétie. In 1570 he moved back to the family estate, the Château de Montaigne, which he had inherited. He thus became the Lord of Montaigne. Around this time he was seriously injured in a riding accident on the grounds of the château when one of his mounted companions collided with him at speed, throwing Montaigne from his horse and briefly knocking him unconscious. It took weeks or months for him to recover, and this close brush with death apparently affected him greatly, as he discussed it at length in his writings over the following years. Not long after the accident he relinquished his magistracy in Bordeaux, his first child was born (and died a few months later), and by 1571 he had retired from public life completely to the tower of the château – his so-called "citadel" – where he almost totally isolated himself from every social and family affair. Locked up in his library, which contained a collection of some 1,500 volumes, he began work on the writings that would later be compiled into his ''Essais'' ("Essays"), first published in 1580. On the day of his 38th birthday, as he entered this almost ten-year period of self-imposed reclusion, he had the following inscription placed on the crown of the bookshelves of his working chamber:
In the year of Christ 1571, at the age of thirty-eight, on the last day of February, his birthday, Michael de Montaigne, long weary of the servitude of the court and of public employments, while still entire, retired to the bosom of the learned virgins, where in calm and freedom from all cares he will spend what little remains of his life, now more than half run out. If the fates permit, he will complete this abode, this sweet ancestral retreat; and he has consecrated it to his freedom, tranquility, and leisure.
File:St Michel de Montaigne Château01.jpg,
Château de Montaigne The Château de Montaigne is a castle mansion situated on the borders of Périgord and Bordelais, near Bergerac and Saint-Émilion, in the small '' commune'' of Saint-Michel-de-Montaigne in the Dordogne ''département'' of France. The struct ...
, a house built on the land once owned by Montaigne's family. His original family home no longer exists, although the
tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...
in which he wrote still stands. File:St Michel de Montaigne Tour03.jpg, The Tour de Montaigne ( Montaigne's tower), where Montaigne's library was located, remains mostly unchanged since the sixteenth century.


Travels

During this time of the Wars of Religion in France, Montaigne, a Roman Catholic, acted as a moderating force, respected both by the Catholic King Henry III and the Protestant Henry of Navarre, who later converted to Catholicism. In 1578 Montaigne, whose health had always been excellent, started suffering from painful
kidney stones Kidney stone disease (known as nephrolithiasis, renal calculus disease, or urolithiasis) is a crystallopathy and occurs when there are too many minerals in the urine and not enough liquid or hydration. This imbalance causes tiny pieces of cr ...
, a tendency he inherited from his father's family. Throughout this illness he would have nothing to do with doctors or drugs. From 1580 to 1581 Montaigne traveled in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, partly in search of a cure, establishing himself at
Bagni di Lucca Bagni di Lucca (formerly Bagno a Corsena) is a comune of Tuscany, Italy, in the Province of Lucca with a population of about 6,100. The comune has 27 named frazioni (wards). History Bagni di Lucca has been known for its thermal springs since the ...
, where he took the waters. His journey was also a
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
to the Holy House of Loreto, to which he presented a silver relief (depicting him, his wife, and their daughter, kneeling before the Madonna) considering himself fortunate that it should be hung on a wall within the shrine. He kept a journal, recording regional differences and customs - and a variety of personal episodes, including the dimensions of the stones he succeeded in expelling. This was published much later, in 1774, after its discovery in a trunk that is displayed in his tower. During a visit to the Vatican that Montaigne described in his travel journal, the ''Essais'' were examined by Sisto Fabri, who served as
Master of the Sacred Palace In the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Theologian of the Pontifical Household () is a Roman Curial office which has always been entrusted to a Friar Preacher of the Dominican Order and may be described as the pope's theologian. The title w ...
under
Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...
. After Fabri examined Montaigne's ''Essais'', the text was returned to him on 20 March 1581. Montaigne had apologised for references to the pagan notion of "
fortuna Fortuna (, equivalent to the Greek mythology, Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Religion in ancient Rome, Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular thr ...
", as well as for writing favorably of
Julian the Apostate Julian (; ; 331 – 26 June 363) was the Caesar of the West from 355 to 360 and Roman emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. His rejection of Christianity, and his promotion of Neoplatonic Hellenism ...
and of heretical poets, and was released to follow his own conscience in making emendations to the text.


Later career

While in the city of
Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...
in 1581 he learned that, like his father before him, he had been elected mayor of Bordeaux. He thus returned and served as mayor. He was re-elected in 1583 and served until 1585, again moderating between Catholics and Protestants. The plague broke out in Bordeaux toward the end of his second term in office, in 1585. In 1586 the plague and the French Wars of Religion prompted him to leave his château for two years. Montaigne continued to extend, revise, and oversee the publication of the ''Essais''. In 1588 he wrote its third book, and also met
Marie de Gournay Marie de Gournay (; 6 October 1565, Paris – 13 July 1645) was a French writer, who wrote a novel and a number of other literary compositions, including ''The Equality of Men and Women'' (''Égalité des hommes et des femmes'', 1622) and ' ...
, an author who admired his work and later edited and published it. Montaigne later referred to her as his adopted daughter. When King Henry III was assassinated in 1589, Montaigne, despite his aversion to the cause of the Reformation, was anxious to promote a compromise that would end the bloodshed and gave his support to Henry of Navarre, who would go on to become King Henry IV. Montaigne's position associated him with the ''
politiques During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, ''politiques'' () were Western European statesmen who prioritized the strength of the state above all other organs of society, including religion. During the French Wars of Religion, this included m ...
'', the establishment movement that prioritised peace, national unity, and royal authority over religious allegiance.


Death

Montaigne died of a peritonsillar abscess at the age of 59 in 1592 at the Château de Montaigne. In his case the disease "brought about paralysis of the tongue", especially difficult for one who once said: "the most fruitful and natural play of the mind is conversation. I find it sweeter than any other action in life; and if I were forced to choose, I think I would rather lose my sight than my hearing and voice." Remaining in possession of all his other faculties, he requested Mass, and died during the celebration of that Mass. He was buried nearby. Later his remains were moved to the church of Saint Antoine at Bordeaux. The church no longer exists. It became the Convent des Feuillants, which also has disappeared.


''Essais''

His humanism finds expression in his ''Essais'', a collection of a large number of short subjective essays on various topics published in 1580 that were inspired by his studies in the
classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...
, especially by the works of
Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
and
Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( ; ;  â€“ October 15, 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is t ...
. Montaigne's stated goal was to describe humans, and especially himself, with utter frankness. Inspired by his consideration of the lives and ideals of the leading figures of his age, he finds the great variety and volatility of
human nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...
to be its most basic features. He describes his own poor memory, his ability to solve problems and mediate conflicts without truly getting emotionally involved, his disdain for the human pursuit of lasting fame, and his attempts to detach himself from worldly things to prepare for his timely death. He writes about his disgust with the religious conflicts of his time. He believed that humans are not able to attain true certainty. The longest of his essays, ''Apology for Raymond Sebond'', marking his adoption of
Pyrrhonism Pyrrhonism is an Ancient Greek school of philosophical skepticism which rejects dogma and advocates the suspension of judgement over the truth of all beliefs. It was founded by Aenesidemus in the first century BCE, and said to have been inspired ...
, contains his famous motto, "What do I know?" Montaigne considered marriage necessary for the raising of children but disliked strong feelings of passionate love because he saw them as detrimental to
freedom Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws". In one definition, something is "free" i ...
. In education, he favored concrete examples and experience over the teaching of abstract knowledge intended to be accepted uncritically. His essay "On the Education of Children" is dedicated to
Diana of Foix Charlotte Diane de Foix-Candale (after 1540 – 24 May 1587) became the Comtesse of Gurson (in France) after her marriage in 1579 with Louis de Foix, who fell in the Battle of Montraveau on 29 July 1587. Michel de Montaigne dedicated the twenty- ...
. The ''Essais'' exercised an important influence on both French and
English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
, in thought and style.
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...
's ''Essays'', published over a decade later, first in 1597, usually are presumed to be directly influenced by Montaigne's collection, and Montaigne is cited by Bacon alongside other classical sources in later essays.


Montaigne's influence on psychology

Although not a scientist, Montaigne made observations on topics in
psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...
.King, Brett; Viney, Wayne; Woody, William. ''A History of Psychology: Ideas and Context'', 4th ed., Pearson Education, Inc. 2009, p. 112. In his essays he developed and explained his observations of these themes. His thoughts and ideas covered subjects such as thought, motivation, fear, happiness, child education, experience and
human action ''Human Action: A Treatise on Economics'' is a work by the Austrian economist and philosopher Ludwig von Mises. Widely considered Mises' ''magnum opus'', it presents the case for laissez-faire capitalism based on praxeology, his method to under ...
. Montaigne's ideas have influenced psychology and are a part of its rich history.


Child education

Child education was among the psychological topics that he wrote about. His essays ''On the Education of Children'', ''On Pedantry'', and ''On Experience'' explain the views he had on child education.Hall, Michael L. ''Montaigne's Uses of Classical Learning''. "Journal of Education" 1997, Vol. 179 Issue 1, p. 61 Some of his views on child education are still relevant today.Ediger, Marlow. ''Influence of ten leading educators on American education''. ''Education'' Vol. 118, Issue 2, p. 270 Montaigne's views on the education of children were opposed to the common educational practices of his day. He found fault both with what was taught and how it was taught. Much of education during Montaigne's time focused on reading the classics and learning through books. Montaigne disagreed with learning strictly through books. He believed it was necessary to educate children in a variety of ways. He also disagreed with the way information was being presented to students. It was being presented in a way that encouraged students to take the information that was taught to them as absolute truth. Students were denied the chance to question the information; but Montaigne, in general, took the position that to learn truly, a student had to take the information and make it their own:
Let the tutor make his charge pass everything through a sieve and lodge nothing in his head on mere authority and trust: let not Aristotle's principles be principles to him any more than those of the
Stoics Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy that flourished in ancient Greece and Rome. The Stoics believed that the universe operated according to reason, ''i.e.'' by a God which is immersed in nature itself. Of all the schools of ancient ...
or
Epicureans Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded 307 BCE based upon the teachings of Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher. Epicurus was an atomist and materialist, following in the steps of Democritus. His materialism led him to religious s ...
. Let this variety of ideas be set before him; he will choose if he can; if not, he will remain in doubt. Only the fools are certain and assured. "For doubting pleases me no less than knowing."
Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...
]. For if he embraces Xenophon's and Plato's opinions by his own reasoning, they will no longer be theirs, they will be his. He who follows another follows nothing. He finds nothing; indeed he seeks nothing. "We are not under a king; let each one claim his own freedom." Seneca">Seneca_the_Younger.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Seneca the Younger">Seneca . . . He must imbibe their way of thinking, not learn their precepts. And let him boldly forget, if he wants, where he got them, but let him know how to make them his own. Truth and reason are common to everyone, and no more belong to the man who first spoke them than to the man who says them later. It is no more according to Plato than according to me, since he and I see it in the same way. The bees plunder the flowers here and there, but afterward they make of them honey, which is all and purely their own, and no longer thyme and marjoram.
At the foundation, Montaigne believed that the selection of a good tutor was important for the student to become well educated. Education by a tutor was to be conducted at the pace of the student. He believed that a tutor should be in dialogue with the student, letting the student speak first. The tutor also should allow for discussions and debates to be had. Such a dialogue was intended to create an environment in which students would teach themselves. They would be able to realise their mistakes and make corrections to them as necessary. Individualised learning was integral to his theory of child education. He argued that the student combines information already known with what is learned and forms a unique perspective on the newly learned information.Worley, Virginia. ''Painting With Impasto: Metaphors, Mirrors, and Reflective Regression in Montagne's 'Of the Education of Children.' '' ''Educational Theory'', June 2012, Vol. 62 Issue 3, pp. 343–370. Montaigne also thought that tutors should encourage the natural curiosity of students and allow them to question things. He postulated that successful students were those who were encouraged to question new information and study it for themselves, rather than simply accepting what they had heard from the authorities on any given topic. Montaigne believed that a child's curiosity could serve as an important teaching tool when the child is allowed to explore the things that the child is curious about. Experience also was a key element to learning for Montaigne. Tutors needed to teach students through experience rather than through the mere memorization of information often practised in book learning. He argued that students would become passive adults, blindly obeying and lacking the ability to think on their own. Nothing of importance would be retained and no abilities would be learned. He believed that learning through experience was superior to learning through the use of books. For this reason he encouraged tutors to educate their students through practice, travel and human interaction. In doing so he argued that students would become active learners, who could claim knowledge for themselves. Montaigne's views on child education continue to have an influence in the present. Variations of Montaigne's ideas on education are incorporated into modern learning in some ways. He argued against the popular way of teaching in his day, encouraging individualised learning. He believed in the importance of experience, over book learning and memorization. Ultimately, Montaigne postulated that the point of education was to teach a student how to have a successful life by practising an active and socially interactive lifestyle.


Related writers and influence

Thinkers exploring ideas similar to Montaigne include Erasmus, Thomas More, John Fisher and Guillaume Budé, who all worked about fifty years before Montaigne. Many of Montaigne's Latin quotations are from Erasmus' ''Adagia'', and most critically, all of his quotations from
Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...
.
Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
remains perhaps Montaigne's strongest influence, in terms of substance and style. Montaigne's quotations from Plutarch in the ''Essays'' number more than 500. Ever since
Edward Capell Edward Capell (11 June 171324 February 1781) was an English Shakespearian critic. Biography He was born at Troston Hall () in Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk ...
first made the suggestion in 1780, scholars have suggested Montaigne to be an influence on
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. The latter would have had access to
John Florio Giovanni Florio (1552 or 1553 – 1625), known as John Florio, was an English linguist, poet, writer, translator, lexicographer, and royal language tutor at the Court of James I. He is recognised as the most important Renaissance humanist in ...
's translation of Montaigne's ''Essais'', published in English in 1603, and a scene in ''
The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...
'' "follows the wording of Florio ranslating ''Of Cannibals''">Of_Cannibals.html" ;"title="ranslating ''Of Cannibals">ranslating ''Of Cannibals''so closely that his indebtedness is unmistakable". Most parallels between the two may be explained, however, as commonplaces: as similarities with writers in other nations to the works of Miguel de Cervantes">:en:wikt:commonplace">commonplaces: as similarities with writers in other nations to the works of Miguel de Cervantes and Shakespeare could be due simply to their own study of Latin moral and philosophical writers such as Seneca the Younger, Horace, Ovid and Virgil. Much of Blaise Pascal's scepticism in his ''Pensées'' has been attributed traditionally to his reading Montaigne. Pascal listed Montaigne and Epictetus as the two philosophers with whom he was most familiar. The English essayist
William Hazlitt William Hazlitt (10 April 177818 September 1830) was an English essayist, drama and literary criticism, literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history ...
expressed boundless admiration for Montaigne, exclaiming that "he was the first who had the courage to say as an author what he felt as a man. ... He was neither a pedant nor a bigot. ... In treating of men and manners, he spoke of them as he found them, not according to preconceived notions and abstract dogmas". Beginning most overtly with the essays in the "
familiar In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (strictly familiar spirits, as "familiar" also meant just "close friend" or companion, and may be seen in the scientific name for dog, ''Canis familiaris'') were believed ...
" style in his own '' Table-Talk'', Hazlitt tried to follow Montaigne's example.Kinnaird, John, ''William Hazlitt: Critic of Power'', Columbia University Press, 1978, p. 274. The American philosopher
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...
chose "Montaigne; or, the Skeptic" as a subject of one of his series of lectures entitled, ''Representative Men'', alongside other subjects such as Shakespeare and Plato. In "The Skeptic" Emerson writes of his experience reading Montaigne, "It seemed to me as if I had myself written the book, in some former life, so sincerely it spoke to my thought and experience."
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...
judged of Montaigne: "That such a man wrote has truly augmented the joy of living on this Earth".
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he se ...
advises that "to restore lucidity and proportion to our judgments, let us read every evening a page of Montaigne."
Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig ( ; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world. Zweig was raised in V ...
drew inspiration from one of Montaigne's quotations to give the title to his
polemical Polemic ( , ) is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called polemics, which are seen in arguments on controversial to ...
essay ''A Conscience Against Violence''. The American philosopher
Eric Hoffer Eric Hoffer (July 25, 1902 – May 21, 1983) was an American philosopher and social critic. A conservative moderate with an atypical working-class background, Hoffer authored ten books over his career and was awarded the Presidential Medal of F ...
employed Montaigne both stylistically and in thought. In his memoir, ''Truth Imagined'', he said of Montaigne, "He was writing about me. He knew my innermost thoughts." The British novelist
John Cowper Powys John Cowper Powys ( ; 8 October 187217 June 1963) was an English novelist, philosopher, lecturer, critic and poet born in Shirley, Derbyshire, where his father was vicar of the parish church in 1871–1879. Powys appeared with a volume of verse ...
expressed his admiration for Montaigne's philosophy in his books, ''Suspended Judgements'' (1916) and ''The Pleasures of Literature'' (1938). Judith N. Shklar introduces her book ''Ordinary Vices'' (1984), "It is only if we step outside the divinely ruled moral universe that we can really put our minds to the common ills we inflict upon one another each day. That is what Montaigne did and that is why he is the hero of this book. In spirit he is on every one of its pages..." The 20th-century literary critic
Erich Auerbach Erich Auerbach (; 9 November 1892 – 13 October 1957) was a German philologist and comparative scholar and critic of literature. His best-known work is '' Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature'', a history of representa ...
called Montaigne the first modern man. "Among all his contemporaries", writes Auerbach (''Mimesis'', Chapter 12), "he had the clearest conception of the problem of man's self-orientation; that is, the task of making oneself at home in existence without fixed points of support".


Possible discovery of remains

The
Musée d'Aquitaine The Museum of Aquitaine ( French: ''Musée d'Aquitaine'') is a collection of objects and documents from the history of Bordeaux and Aquitaine. History In the 16th century, the site of the Musée d'Aquitaine housed the convent of the Feuillant ...
announced on 20 November 2019 that human remains that had been found in the basement of the museum a year earlier might belong to Montaigne. Investigation of the remains, postponed because of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, resumed in September 2020.


Commemoration

The birthdate of Montaigne served as the basis to establish National Essay Day in the United States. The
humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...
branch of the
University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (, ) is a public research university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bordeaux, Dax, Gradignan, Périgueux, Pessac, and Talence. There are al ...
is named after him: .


References


Further reading

* Sarah Bakewell (2010). '' How to Live — or — A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer''. New York: Other Press. * * Donald M. Frame (1984)
965 Year 965 ( CMLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II conquers the fortress cities of Tarsus and Mopsuestia. The Muslim resid ...
''Montaigne: A Biography''. San Francisco: North Point Press. * * . * * * * M. A. Screech (1991)
983 Year 983 ( CMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Diet of Verona: Emperor Otto II (the Red) declares war against the Byzantine Empire and the Emirate of Sicily ...
''Montaigne and Melancholy: The Wisdom of the Essays''. Penguin Books. * *
Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig ( ; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world. Zweig was raised in V ...
(2015) 942

Translated by Will Stone. Pushkin Press. * O’Brien, John (2019), Jennings, Jeremy; Moriarty, Michael (eds.), "
Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 â€“ 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the essay as ...
", ''The Cambridge History of French Thought'', Cambridge University Press, pp. 73–82


External links

* * *
Essays, lightly edited for easier reading

Facsimile and HTML versions of the 10 Volume Essays of Montaigne
at the Online Library of Liberty
Essays by Montaigne
at Quotidiana.org * The
Charles Cotton Charles Cotton (28 April 1630 – 16 February 1687) was an English poet and writer, best known for translating the work of Michel de Montaigne from French, for his contributions to ''The Compleat Angler'', and for the influential ''The Complea ...
translation of some of Montaigne's Essays: *
plain text version
by
Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...
*
''Essays''
English audio by Librivox * The complete, searchable text of th
Villey-Saulnier edition
from the ARFTL project at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Montaigne Studies
at the University of Chicago
Titi Lucretii Cari ''De rerum natura libri sex''
published in Paris 1563, later owned and annotated by Montaigne, fully digitised in
Cambridge Digital Library The Cambridge Digital Library is a project operated by the Cambridge University Library designed to make items from the unique and distinctive collections of Cambridge University Library available online. The project was initially funded by a dona ...

The Montaigne Library
of Gilbert de Botton, digitised in
Cambridge Digital Library The Cambridge Digital Library is a project operated by the Cambridge University Library designed to make items from the unique and distinctive collections of Cambridge University Library available online. The project was initially funded by a dona ...

The Essays of Michel de Montaigne
eBook at The
University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...
, translator:
Charles Cotton Charles Cotton (28 April 1630 – 16 February 1687) was an English poet and writer, best known for translating the work of Michel de Montaigne from French, for his contributions to ''The Compleat Angler'', and for the influential ''The Complea ...
, editor:
William Carew Hazlitt William Carew Hazlitt (22 August 18348 September 1913), known professionally as W. Carew Hazlitt, was an English lawyer, bibliographer, editor and writer. He was the son of the barrister and registrar William Hazlitt, a grandson of the essayist ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montaigne, Michel De 1533 births 1592 deaths People from Guyenne 16th-century French historians 16th-century French male writers 16th-century French philosophers 16th-century travel writers Christian humanists College of Guienne alumni Deaths from peritonsillar abscess French autobiographers French book and manuscript collectors French male essayists French male writers French nobility French people of Spanish-Jewish descent French Renaissance humanists French Roman Catholic writers French sceptics French travel writers Mayors of Bordeaux People from Dordogne French philosophers of education French philosophers of science Prisoners of the Bastille Skeptic philosophers Writers from Nouvelle-Aquitaine 16th-century essayists 16th-century French writers