![Essays [ By: Michel De Montaigne ]](http://img3.imagesbn.com/resources/images/common/blank.gif?cb=1.52.15)
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"Screech's translation brilliantly captures the directness, energy, and pithiness of Montaigne's writing."—The Christian Science Monitor.
Introduction Note on the Text The Annotations Note on the Translation Explanation of the Symbols THE ESSAYS: A SELECTION To the Reader
Book I
1. We reach the same end by discrepant means
8. On idleness
16. On punishing cowardice
18. On fear
20. To philosophize is to learn how to die
26. On educating children
27. That it is madness to judge the true and false from our own capacities
31. On the Cannibals
32. Judgements on God's ordinances must be embarked upon with prudence
39. On solitude
56. On prayer
57. On the length of life
Book II
1. On the inconstancy of our actions
2. On drunkenness
5. On conscience
8. On the affection of fathers for their children
11. On cruelty
32. In defence of Seneca and Plutarch
35. On three good wives
37. On the resemblance of children to their fathers
Book III
2. On repenting
3. On three kinds of social intercourse
5. On some lines of Virgil
6. On coaches
11. On the lame
13. On experience
Index Summary of the Symbols
Starrfish
Posted May 5, 2010
I love Montaigne's essays. They give you a wonderful taste of classically-inspired Renaissance thought, even as Montaigne ponders issues that are still highly relevant today. This selection limits the number of essays down to a more manageable length for the average reader, while still showing you the breadth and scope of Montaigne's writing. I haven't read this in the original French but the translation seems good to me, and Screech's writing style is appropriate for Montaigne's time period without being inaccessible or too difficult to understand. It really is a very intellectual book, but if you enjoy thinking about human nature, human society, and morality, or if you're interested in historical perspectives on the world then this would be a great book for you, especially since Montaigne writes with so much personality, empathy and feeling. It may be intellectual, but it's far from being dry and academic. It's a book that's meant to make you think more deeply about your own life and the lives of those around you.
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Overview
"Screech's translation brilliantly captures the directness, energy, and pithiness of Montaigne's writing."—The Christian Science Monitor.