On Michel de Montaigne’s birthday, revisit Jane Kramer on the author who took an ordinary word—“essais”—and turned it into a literary occupation.
Authors are, of course, sneaky. They lead you exactly where they want to go, and no farther. By the end of the essays, you know a great deal about Montaigne’s mind and temperament, but, as for his promise that “my defects will here be read to the life,” you are still waiting for the details of that life and most of the people in it. His evasions are legendary.
But Montaigne was not much interested in family histories of any sort, and his own was apparently untouched by not only the anti-Semitism that attached to the children of “new Christian” immigrants like the Louppes but also the Catholic-Protestant wars at home. Some of Montaigne’s siblings became Protestant, with no evident disruption to the family—even during the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacres of 1572, when thirty thousand French Calvinists died.
“Anyone can see that I have set out on a road along which I shall travel without toil and without ceasing as long as the world has ink and paper,” Montaigne wrote at the beginning of “On Vanity,” his late and perhaps greatest essay. “I cannot give an account of my life by my actions: fortune has placed them too low for that; so I do so by my thoughts.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Reportedly Changing Controversial FeatureAccording to a new report, Call of Duty 2022 -- a reboot of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and a [...]
Les mer »
Professional Chefs Are Sharing The Mistakes We're All Making In The Kitchen, And These Are Really Good To Know, Y'all“If you want to cut onions without the juices making you cry, chill them first.”
Les mer »
Chopard’s Karl-Friedrich Scheufele on Winemaking, Truffle Hunting and Restoring Vintage CarsScheufele and his sister Caroline have been running the 162-year-old Swiss jewelry and watch company since 2001.
Les mer »
One person dead after motorcycle crash on Blanding Blvd.BREAKING NEWS | The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is investigating a vehicle crash that left a motorcyclist dead.
Les mer »
John Mulaney Talks Sobriety in His (Fifth) SNL Monologue“I might be the first drug addict to turn an innocent man into a drug dealer.”
Les mer »
Authorities Respond To Scene Of Central LA Shooting That Leaves One Critically InjuredOne man was critically injured in a shooting that occurred in Central Los Angeles Saturday evening.
Les mer »