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near Bordeaux, Franceâd. Sept. 23, 1592, Château de Montaigne)
I n his
Essais
(
Essays
) the French writer Michel de Montaigne established a new literary formâthe essayâthat he used to create one of the most captivating and intimate self-portraits ever given.
As a young child Montaigne was tutored at home according to his fatherâs ideas of pedagogy, which included the exclusive use of Latin, still the international language of educated people. As a result the boy did not learn French until he was six years old. He continued his education at the College of Guyenne and eventually at the University of Toulouse, where he studied law. He entered into the magistrature, eventually becoming a member of the Parliament of Bordeaux, one of the eight regional parliaments that constituted the French Parliament, the highest national court of justice. There, at the age of 24, he made the acquaintance of Ãtienne de la Boétie, a meeting that was one of the most significant events in Montaigneâs life. An extraordinary friendship, based on a profound intellectual and emotional closeness and reciprocity, sprang up between Montaigne and the slightly older La Boétie, an already distinguished civil servant, humanist scholar, and writer. When La Boétie died, he left a void in Montaigneâs life that no other being was ever able to fill. It is likely that Montaigne started on his writing career, six years after La Boétieâs death, in order to fill the emptiness left by the loss of the irretrievable friend.
In 1570 Montaigne sold his seat in the Bordeaux Parliament and retired in 1571 to the castle of Montaigne in order to devote his time to reading, meditating, and writing. His library, installed in the castleâs tower, became his refuge. It was in this round room, lined with a thousand books and decorated with Greek and Latin inscriptions, that Montaigne set out to put on paper his
essais
, that is, the probings and testings of his mind. He spent the years from 1571 to 1580 composing the first two books of the
Essays
, which comprise respectively 57 and 37 chapters of greatly varying lengths; they were published in Bordeaux in 1580.
Montaigne then set out to travel, and in the course of 15 months he visited areas of France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. Upon his return he assumed the position of mayor of Bordeaux at the request of King Henry III and held it for two terms, until July 1585. During his second term Montaigne played a crucial role in preserving the equilibrium between the Catholic majority and the important Protestant League representation in Bordeaux. Toward the end of this term the plague broke out in Bordeaux, soon raging out of control and killing one-third of the population.
Montaigne resumed his literary work by embarking on the third book of the
Essays
. After having been interrupted againâby a renewed outbreak of the plague that forced Montaigne and his family to seek refuge elsewhere, by military activity close to his estate, and by diplomatic duties, when Catherine de Médicis appealed to his abilities as a negotiator to mediate between herself and Henry of Navarre (a mission that turned out to be unsuccessful)âMontaigne was able to finish the work in 1587. The year 1588 was marked by both political and literary events. During a trip to Paris Montaigne was twice arrested and briefly imprisoned by members of the Protestant League because of his loyalty to Henry III. During the same trip he supervised the publication of the fifth edition of the
Essays
. He spent the last years of his life at his château, continuing to read and to reflect and to work on the
Essays
, adding new passages, which signify not so much profound changes in his ideas as further explorations of his thought and experience.
Montaigne saw his age as one of dissimulation, corruption, violence, and hypocrisy, and he considered the human being to be a creature of weakness and
I n his
Essais
(
Essays
) the French writer Michel de Montaigne established a new literary formâthe essayâthat he used to create one of the most captivating and intimate self-portraits ever given.
As a young child Montaigne was tutored at home according to his fatherâs ideas of pedagogy, which included the exclusive use of Latin, still the international language of educated people. As a result the boy did not learn French until he was six years old. He continued his education at the College of Guyenne and eventually at the University of Toulouse, where he studied law. He entered into the magistrature, eventually becoming a member of the Parliament of Bordeaux, one of the eight regional parliaments that constituted the French Parliament, the highest national court of justice. There, at the age of 24, he made the acquaintance of Ãtienne de la Boétie, a meeting that was one of the most significant events in Montaigneâs life. An extraordinary friendship, based on a profound intellectual and emotional closeness and reciprocity, sprang up between Montaigne and the slightly older La Boétie, an already distinguished civil servant, humanist scholar, and writer. When La Boétie died, he left a void in Montaigneâs life that no other being was ever able to fill. It is likely that Montaigne started on his writing career, six years after La Boétieâs death, in order to fill the emptiness left by the loss of the irretrievable friend.
In 1570 Montaigne sold his seat in the Bordeaux Parliament and retired in 1571 to the castle of Montaigne in order to devote his time to reading, meditating, and writing. His library, installed in the castleâs tower, became his refuge. It was in this round room, lined with a thousand books and decorated with Greek and Latin inscriptions, that Montaigne set out to put on paper his
essais
, that is, the probings and testings of his mind. He spent the years from 1571 to 1580 composing the first two books of the
Essays
, which comprise respectively 57 and 37 chapters of greatly varying lengths; they were published in Bordeaux in 1580.
Montaigne then set out to travel, and in the course of 15 months he visited areas of France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. Upon his return he assumed the position of mayor of Bordeaux at the request of King Henry III and held it for two terms, until July 1585. During his second term Montaigne played a crucial role in preserving the equilibrium between the Catholic majority and the important Protestant League representation in Bordeaux. Toward the end of this term the plague broke out in Bordeaux, soon raging out of control and killing one-third of the population.
Montaigne resumed his literary work by embarking on the third book of the
Essays
. After having been interrupted againâby a renewed outbreak of the plague that forced Montaigne and his family to seek refuge elsewhere, by military activity close to his estate, and by diplomatic duties, when Catherine de Médicis appealed to his abilities as a negotiator to mediate between herself and Henry of Navarre (a mission that turned out to be unsuccessful)âMontaigne was able to finish the work in 1587. The year 1588 was marked by both political and literary events. During a trip to Paris Montaigne was twice arrested and briefly imprisoned by members of the Protestant League because of his loyalty to Henry III. During the same trip he supervised the publication of the fifth edition of the
Essays
. He spent the last years of his life at his château, continuing to read and to reflect and to work on the
Essays
, adding new passages, which signify not so much profound changes in his ideas as further explorations of his thought and experience.
Montaigne saw his age as one of dissimulation, corruption, violence, and hypocrisy, and he considered the human being to be a creature of weakness and
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