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Michel de Montaigne (1533-92) is principally known today as a literary figure--the inventor of the modern essay and the pioneer of autobiographical self-exploration who retired from politics in midlife to write his private, philosophical, and apolitical Essais. But, as Biancamaria Fontana argues in Montaigne's Politics, a novel, vivid account of the political meaning of the Essais in the context of Montaigne's life and times, his retirement from the Bordeaux parliament in 1570 "could be said to have marked the beginning, rather than the end, of his public career." He later served as mayor of Bordeaux and advisor to King Henry of Navarre, and, as Fontana argues, Montaigne's Essais very much reflect his ongoing involvement and preoccupation with contemporary politics--particularly the politics of France's civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. Fontana shows that the Essais, although written as a record of Montaigne's personal experiences, do nothing less than set forth the first major critique of France's ancien régime, anticipating the main themes of Enlightenment writers such as Voltaire and Diderot. Challenging the views that Montaigne was politically aloof or evasive, or that he was a conservative skeptic and supporter of absolute monarchy, Fontana explores many of the central political issues in Montaigne's work--the reform of legal institutions, the prospects of religious toleration, the role of public opinion, and the legitimacy of political regimes.

Montaigne, Michel de, --- Political and social views. --- Montagne, Michel de, --- Montenʹ, Mishelʹ, --- Montanʹe, Mikhaĭlo, --- Montaigne, Michel Eyquem de, --- Montaigne, --- Montēnyu, --- Montaini, Misel d̲e, --- דה־מונטן, מישל, --- די־מונטין, מיכאל, --- מונטין, מישל דה, --- Montenj, Mišel de, --- de Montaigne, Michel Eyquem --- Eyquem, Michel --- Monten', Mišel' --- Montaigne, Michel de, - 1533-1592. - Essais. --- Montaigne, Michel de, - 1533-1592 - Political and social views. --- Montaigne, Michel de, - 1533-1592

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In a fresh reading of Montaigne's Essais, David Quint portrays the great Renaissance writer as both a literary man and a deeply engaged political thinker concerned with the ethical basis of society and civil discourse. From the first essay, Montaigne places the reader in a world of violent political conflict reminiscent of the French Wars of Religion through which he lived and wrote. Quint shows how a group of interrelated essays, including the famous one on the cannibals of Brazil, explores the confrontation between warring adversaries: a clement or vindictive victor and his suppliant or defiant captive. How can the two be reconciled? In a climate of hatred and obstinacy, Montaigne argues not only for the political necessity but also for the moral imperative of trusting and submitting to others and of extending mercy to them.For Quint, this ethical message informs other topics of the Essais: Montaigne's criticism of stoic models of virtue, his project to reform the cruel behavior of his noble class, his self-portrait that depicts his relaxed and unstudied nature, and his measuring of his own behavior against the classical virtue of Socrates. Quint's reading, attentive to Montaigne's verbal artistry and to his historical and cultural context, shows the essayist always aware of the other side of the issue. The moral thought of the Essais emerges as startlingly modern, both in the perennial urgency of Montaigne's concerns and in the self-questioning open-endedness of his doctrine.Originally published in 1998.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Montaigne, Michel de --- -Montaigne, Michel de --- -De Montaigne, Michel --- Ethics --- Political and social views --- Romance Literatures --- Languages & Literatures --- French Literature --- Montaigne, Michel de, --- Ethics. --- Political and social views. --- Montagne, Michel de, --- Montenʹ, Mishelʹ, --- Montanʹe, Mikhaĭlo, --- Montaigne, Michel Eyquem de, --- Montaigne, --- Montēnyu, --- Montaini, Misel d̲e, --- דה־מונטן, מישל, --- די־מונטין, מיכאל, --- מונטין, מישל דה, --- Montenj, Mišel de, --- Montaigne, Michel de, - 1533-1592. - Essais. --- Montaigne, Michel de, - 1533-1592 - Ethics. --- Montaigne, Michel de, - 1533-1592 - Political and social views. --- HISTORY / Europe / France. --- de Montaigne, Michel Eyquem --- Eyquem, Michel --- Monten', Mišel' --- Thematology --- Montaigne, de, Michel