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 paperback editions preserve the original texts of these
important books while presenting them in durable paperback
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.
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