Editors Reads Verdict
The invention of the essay and one of the most influential books in Western literature — Montaigne's project (know thyself, through the medium of digression, self-contradiction, and radical honesty) produced the model for every first-person reflection written since. Sarah Bakewell's How to Live is the best modern guide to him.
What We Loved
- The form Montaigne invented — following a thought wherever it leads, accepting contradiction, treating the self as a legitimate subject — is the foundation of the essay tradition
- The essays on cannibalism, on cruelty, and on experience are as fresh and challenging as anything written since
- The M. A. Screech translation captures Montaigne's voice — digressive, concrete, self-questioning — better than any other
Minor Drawbacks
- 1,344 pages is genuinely daunting — most readers dip and return rather than reading linearly
- The Renaissance classical references require some background knowledge for full appreciation
Key Takeaways
- → The self is the most legitimate subject of sustained inquiry — Montaigne turned inward when other writers turned outward, and produced a project that has never been superseded
- → What do I know? (Que sais-je?) — Montaigne's device and the foundation of modern skepticism: knowledge is limited, experience is contradictory, certainty is a posture
- → The essay on cannibals argues that Europeans who condemn 'barbarian' practices are not seeing clearly — one of the earliest statements of cultural relativism
| Author | Michel de Montaigne |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Penguin Classics |
| Pages | 1344 |
| Published | January 1, 1580 |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Classic, Essays, Non-Fiction |
| Difficulty | Intermediate |
| Best For | Readers of literary non-fiction and philosophy — approach selectively at first: 'On Cannibals', 'On Friendship', 'On Experience' are ideal starting points. |
The Invention of the Essay
In 1571, Montaigne retired from public life to a tower in his château in Périgord. He had recently inherited his father’s estate after a series of career disappointments. He began writing about whatever came to mind: his body, his opinions, his reading, his doubts, the customs of other peoples, the nature of experience. He called these pieces essais — attempts, trials — because they were not finished arguments but thinking in progress.
The form he invented has never been improved on. Its defining characteristics — digressiveness, self-contradiction, the use of the self as instrument of inquiry rather than authority — are exactly what makes the essay different from the treatise or the sermon.
On Experience
The final essay, ‘On Experience’, is Montaigne’s self-portrait and philosophical testament: the things he has learned from his own body and life, the habits that define him, the acceptance of his own limitations and contradictions. ‘Every man carries the whole form of the human condition within him,’ he wrote. The essays are the attempt to examine that form from the inside.
Our rating: 4.5/5 — The invention of the essay — Montaigne’s self-examination is the foundation of all first-person reflection in Western literature.
Reading Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
What is "The Complete Essays" about?
Montaigne retired to his tower in 1571 and spent the next twenty years writing essays — a form he essentially invented — on subjects ranging from cannibals to friendship, cruelty to experience. The subject of every essay, regardless of its nominal topic, is Montaigne himself: how he thinks, what he knows, what he doubts.
Who should read "The Complete Essays"?
Readers of literary non-fiction and philosophy — approach selectively at first: 'On Cannibals', 'On Friendship', 'On Experience' are ideal starting points.
What are the key takeaways from "The Complete Essays"?
The self is the most legitimate subject of sustained inquiry — Montaigne turned inward when other writers turned outward, and produced a project that has never been superseded What do I know? (Que sais-je?) — Montaigne's device and the foundation of modern skepticism: knowledge is limited, experience is contradictory, certainty is a posture The essay on cannibals argues that Europeans who condemn 'barbarian' practices are not seeing clearly — one of the earliest statements of cultural relativism
Is "The Complete Essays" worth reading?
The invention of the essay and one of the most influential books in Western literature — Montaigne's project (know thyself, through the medium of digression, self-contradiction, and radical honesty) produced the model for every first-person reflection written since. Sarah Bakewell's How to Live is the best modern guide to him.
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