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This book presents a collection of essays that shows that
Renaissance thinkers revived ancient ideas about what inspires
laughter and whether it could ever truly be innocent. It reveals
the question of whether laughter is acceptable to the God of the
Old and New Testaments is a dangerous one.
"Christian laughter is a maze: you could easily get snarled up
within it." So says Michael A. Screech in his note to readers
preceding this collection of fifty-three elegant and pithy essays.
As Screech reveals, the question of whether laughter is acceptable
to the god of the Old and New Testaments is a dangerous one. But we
are fortunate in our g
Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have
transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have
inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have
enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched
lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the
great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas
shook civilization, and helped make us who we are. Michel de
Montaigne was the originator of the modern essay form; in these
diverse pieces he expresses his views on relationships,
contemplates the idea that man is no different from any animal,
argues that all cultures should be respected, and attempts, by an
exploration of himself, to understand the nature of humanity.
'No one characteristic clasps us purely and universally in its
embrace.' A selection of charming essays from a master of the genre
exploring the contradictions inherent to human thought, words and
actions. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's
80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and
diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and
across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over
Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del
Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are
stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays
satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives
of millions. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). Montaigne's works
available in Penguin Classics are The Complete Essays, An Apology
for Raymond Sebond, On Friendship, On Solitude and The Essays: A
Selection
'Montaigne is one of the great sages of that modern world which in a sense began with the Renaissance. He is the bridge linking the thought of pagan antiquity and of Christian antiquity with our own.' In 1572 Montaigne retired from public life and began the reading and writing which were to develop into 'assays' of his thoughts and opinions. Nobody in Western civilization had ever tried to do what Montaigne set out to do. In a vivid, contemporary style he surprises us with entertaining quotations; he moves swiftly from thought to thought, often digressing from an idea only to return to it triumphantly, having caught up with it elsewhere, and in so doing leads the reader along the criss-cross paths of a journey of discovery. Montaigne set out to discover himself. What he discovered instead was the human race.
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The Essays - A Selection (Paperback, Revised)
Michel Montaigne; Translated by M.A. Screech; Introduction by M.A. Screech; Edited by M.A. Screech; Notes by M.A. Screech
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R320
R263
Discovery Miles 2 630
Save R57 (18%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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Reflections by the creator of the essay form display the humane, skeptical, humorous, and honest views of Montaigne, 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."
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Gargantua and Pantagruel (Paperback, New ed)
Francois Rabelais; Translated by M.A. Screech; Introduction by M.A. Screech; Notes by M.A. Screech
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R558
R481
Discovery Miles 4 810
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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The dazzling and exuberant moral stories of Rabelais (c. 1471-1553)
expose human follies with their mischievous and often obscene
humour, while intertwining the realistic with carnivalesque fantasy
to make us look afresh at the world. Gargantua depicts a young
giant, reduced to laughable insanity by an education at the hands
of paternal ignorance, old crones and syphilitic professors, who is
rescued and turned into a cultured Christian knight. And in
Pantagruel and its three sequels, Rabelais parodied tall tales of
chivalry and satirized the law, theology and academia to portray
the bookish son of Gargantua who becomes a Renaissance Socrates,
divinely guided in his wisdom, and his idiotic, self-loving
companion Panurge.
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On Solitude (Paperback)
Michel De Montaigne; Translated by M.A. Screech
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R243
R196
Discovery Miles 1 960
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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Blending intellectual speculation with anecdote and personal
reflection, the Renaissance thinker and writer Montaigne pioneered
the modern essay. This selection contains his idiosyncratic and
timeless writings on subjects as varied as the virtues of solitude,
the power of the imagination, the pleasures of reading, the
importance of sleep and why we sometimes laugh and cry at the same
things. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They
have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They
have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have
enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched
lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the
great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas
shook civilization and helped make us who we are.
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Loot
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