Essays

Celebrated essays from the French philosopher who created a new literary structure

Michel de Montaigne, the creator of the essay form, displays his humane, skeptical, humorous, and honest views, revealing his thoughts on sexuality, religion, cannibals, intellectuals, and other unexpected themes. Included are such celebrated works as "On Solitude," "To Philosophize Is to Learn How to Die," and "On Experience."

Taken together, this selection of essays forms an exquistely drawn portrait that depicts the strength and warmth of Montaigne''s personality. And, as J. M. Cohen observes in his introduction, "One sees, as one reads him, how broad his mind was, and how many of the ideas of the next two centuries he grasped by anticipation."