Montaigne & Melancholy: The Wisdom of the Essays

by M. A. Screech, Marc Fumaroli

Overview

Montaigne (1533-1592), the personification of philosophical calm, had to struggle to become the wise Renaissance humanist we know. His balanced temperament, sanguine and melancholic, promised genius but threatened madness. When he started his Essays, Montaigne was upset by an attack of melancholy humor: He became temperamental and unbalanced. Writing about himself restored the balance but broke an age-old taboo—happily so, for he discovered profound truths about himself and about our human condition. His charm and humor have made his writings widely enjoyed and admired.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742508637
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/19/2000
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.44(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

M. A. Screech, Emeritus Fellow of All Souls and Extraordinary Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford, is a Renaissance scholar of international renown.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Preface to the 1983 Edition Chapter 3 Preface to the New Edition Chapter 4 Originality Chapter 5 Genius Chapter 6 Montaigne's Melancholy Chapter 7 From Genius to Madness: Torquato Tasso

Editorial Reviews

An invaluable literary companion to the essays of Montaigne … the insights it provides are remarkable.

Sunday Times - Anthony Storr

Original and important.. .. His study will easily fulfil its avowed aim of making Montaigne's Essays more comprehensible and more enjoyable.

Times Higher Education - James Supple

A sensitive probe into how Montaigne resolved for himself the age-old ambiguities of melancholia and, in doing so, spoke of what he called the 'human condition'.

London Review Of Books - Roy Porter

A probing, loving companion to the masterwork.

Observer - Nicholas Wollaston

Original and important. . . . His study will easily fulfil its avowed aim of making Montaigne's Essays more comprehensible and more enjoyable.
— James Supple

Times Higher Education Supplement

A sensitive probe into how Montaigne resolved for himself the age-old ambiguities of melancholia and, in doing so, spoke of what he called the 'human condition'.
— Roy Porter

London Review of Books

A probing, loving companion to the masterwork.
— Nicholas Wollaston

Observer

An invaluable literary companion to the essays of Montaigne … the insights it provides are remarkable.
— Anthony Storr

Sunday Times

A sensitive probe into how Montaigne resolved for himself the age-old ambiguities of melancholia and, in doing so, spoke of what he called the "human condition".
— Roy Porter

London Review Of Books