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On Solitude
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.
130 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1580
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About the author
Michel de Montaigne
1,797 books1,512 followersMichel Eyquem de Montaigne (1532-1592) was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance. Montaigne is known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. He became famous for his effortless ability to merge serious intellectual speculation with casual anecdotes and autobiography—and his massive volume Essais (translated literally as "Attempts") contains, to this day, some of the most widely influential essays ever written. Montaigne had a direct influence on writers the world over, from William Shakespeare to René Descartes, from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Stephan Zweig, from Friedrich Nietzsche to Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He was a conservative and earnest Catholic but, as a result of his anti-dogmatic cast of mind, he is considered the father, alongside his contemporary and intimate friend Étienne de La Boétie, of the "anti-conformist" tradition in French literature.
In his own time, Montaigne was admired more as a statesman then as an author. The tendency in his essays to digress into anecdotes and personal ruminations was seen as detrimental to proper style rather than as an innovation, and his declaration that, "I am myself the matter of my book", was viewed by his contemporaries as self-indulgent. In time, however, Montaigne would be recognized as embodying, perhaps better than any other author of his time, the spirit of freely entertaining doubt which began to emerge at that time. He is most famously known for his skeptical remark, "Que sais-je?" ("What do I know?").
Remarkably modern even to readers today, Montaigne's attempt to examine the world through the lens of the only thing he can depend on implicitly—his own judgment—makes him more accessible to modern readers than any other author of the Renaissance. Much of modern literary nonfiction has found inspiration in Montaigne, and writers of all kinds continue to read him for his masterful balance of intellectual knowledge and personal storytelling.
In his own time, Montaigne was admired more as a statesman then as an author. The tendency in his essays to digress into anecdotes and personal ruminations was seen as detrimental to proper style rather than as an innovation, and his declaration that, "I am myself the matter of my book", was viewed by his contemporaries as self-indulgent. In time, however, Montaigne would be recognized as embodying, perhaps better than any other author of his time, the spirit of freely entertaining doubt which began to emerge at that time. He is most famously known for his skeptical remark, "Que sais-je?" ("What do I know?").
Remarkably modern even to readers today, Montaigne's attempt to examine the world through the lens of the only thing he can depend on implicitly—his own judgment—makes him more accessible to modern readers than any other author of the Renaissance. Much of modern literary nonfiction has found inspiration in Montaigne, and writers of all kinds continue to read him for his masterful balance of intellectual knowledge and personal storytelling.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 119 reviews
July 7, 2019
in solis sis tibi turba locis.
[in lonely places, be a crowd unto yourself.]
Tibullus, IV, xiii, 12 (adapted).
It didn't surprise me at all the fact that I was reading the words of a man who lived in the 16th century and mastered completely the art of being timeless. Finding relics of a bygone era which have an enormous influence on our way of thinking has become a fulfilling habit.
There is nothing more unsociable than Man, and nothing more sociable: unsociable by his vice, sociable by his nature.
Even though this essay may border on the extreme, I found some fascinating views on things – that have occupied my mind on countless occasions – which were expressed using a beautiful language brimming with erudition and wit, sophistication and simplicity; a splendid potpourri that turns his prose into something unbelievably modern. A rational blessedness blending in with a philosophical prayer, wistfully looking at life as the writer attempts to discover a new side of its meaning. (Don't you just love the accumulation of oxymorons that convey so much and say nothing at all?)
Quid terras alio calentes
Sole mutamus? patria quis exul Se quoque fugit?
[Why do we leave for lands warmed by a foreign sun? What fugitive from his own land can flee from himself?]
Horace, Odes, II, xvi, 18–20. (The ideas in general are indebted here to Seneca.)
If you do not first lighten yourself and your soul of the weight of your burdens, moving about will only increase their pressure on you, as a ship’s cargo is less troublesome when lashed in place… It is our own self we have to isolate and take back into possession.
Rupi jam vincula dicas: Nam luctata canis nodum arripit; attamen illi, Cum fugit, a collo trahitur pars longa catenæ.
[‘I have broken my chains,’ you say. But a struggling cur may snap its chain, only to escape with a great length of it fixed to its collar.]
Persius, Satires, V, 158–60.
We take our fetters with us; our freedom is not total: we still turn our gaze towards the things we have left behind; our imagination is full of them.
This is the second essay I read and it was a delight – a welcome change of pace after reading the first one titled “On Sleep” which, ironically, did justice to those words, despite some gleam in the distance.
I will be reading The Complete Essays every now and then so it is not going to be on my currently-reading shelf because it could be there for years and that would be sorely discouraging.
Ratings and quotes will be gathered here.
June 16, 16-Update July 7, 19
* Also on my blog.
May 12, 2018
"Now the aim of all solitude, I take it, is the same: to live more at leisure and at one's ease. But people do not always look for the right way."
I feel that line is pretty-much the thesis of this essay. I just want to quickly talk more about the essay-style and Montaigne than the actual subject of the essay. If you want to read a nice analysis of that, go here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The thing about this essay (and all of Montaigne's essays) is that it is not so much trying to be the absolute authority, but just what he thinks. He is not really under pressure to have the latest scholarship (of the Renaissance) available, which would have been impossible given the turbulence of the reformation, but he uses his classical training and his common sense to think on things anyway. His style of using quotations has been very influential to me and I can't not love his laid-back tone. He was given a state-of-the-art education, but kept it real. He was no paradigm of good morals and did not try to be (this irritated many later French thinkers, but was influential on English writers like Shakespeare and Dickens), but he was true to himself. I will talk more about the man in detail when I get around to reviewing the Complete Essays.
"That is the counsel of true and natural philosophy, not of an ostentatious and talky philosophy like that of Pliny and Cicero."
I feel that line is pretty-much the thesis of this essay. I just want to quickly talk more about the essay-style and Montaigne than the actual subject of the essay. If you want to read a nice analysis of that, go here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The thing about this essay (and all of Montaigne's essays) is that it is not so much trying to be the absolute authority, but just what he thinks. He is not really under pressure to have the latest scholarship (of the Renaissance) available, which would have been impossible given the turbulence of the reformation, but he uses his classical training and his common sense to think on things anyway. His style of using quotations has been very influential to me and I can't not love his laid-back tone. He was given a state-of-the-art education, but kept it real. He was no paradigm of good morals and did not try to be (this irritated many later French thinkers, but was influential on English writers like Shakespeare and Dickens), but he was true to himself. I will talk more about the man in detail when I get around to reviewing the Complete Essays.
"That is the counsel of true and natural philosophy, not of an ostentatious and talky philosophy like that of Pliny and Cicero."
July 31, 2016
یادمه اون روزی که این کتاب رو از نمایشگاه کتاب خریدم خیلی ذوق داشتم که بخونمش.
کتابی بود که خب دیده بودم دوستان خوندنش و عنوانشم طوری بود که فکر می کردم قرارِ یک کتاب در مورد خلوت گزینی و اینا باشه..
تا پایان فصل اول خوب بود، اما از فصل دوم باقیِ فصل ها هیچ ربطی به عنوان کتاب نداشت... و این باعث شد حس کنم تو دام بازاریابای نشر روزگارنو افتادم. و همین حس های بدِ بعدی رو واسم شروع کرد.
از مطالب فصل های بعدی هم خوشم نیومد. به نظرم لازم بود یکم بیشتر به موضوعات پرداخته بشه و بیشتر و عمیق تر روشون بحث بشه. نه اینکه تو 10 صفحه در باب خشم تموم بشه.. صحبت کردن از خشم پدرومادر در شیوه ی تربیت به نظرم نمی تونه کل مطالب مربوط به خشم رو کاور کنه.
کلا فکر می کنم هر دو مشکلی که من با کتاب داشتم (تا حدی که 50 صفحه ی پایانی رو نخوندم حتی!) تقصیر نشر روزگارنو بوده، هم عنوان کتاب، هم انتخاب مقالاتی که هیچ هماهنگی ای با هم نداشتند.
نشر روزگار نو سری کتاب های ایده های بزرگ رو انتشار داده که دومین کتابش(اعترافات یک گناهکار/آگوستین، درباب خلوت گزینی/ دومونتین) رو هم خوندم و اصلا خوشم نیومد.
کتابی بود که خب دیده بودم دوستان خوندنش و عنوانشم طوری بود که فکر می کردم قرارِ یک کتاب در مورد خلوت گزینی و اینا باشه..
تا پایان فصل اول خوب بود، اما از فصل دوم باقیِ فصل ها هیچ ربطی به عنوان کتاب نداشت... و این باعث شد حس کنم تو دام بازاریابای نشر روزگارنو افتادم. و همین حس های بدِ بعدی رو واسم شروع کرد.
از مطالب فصل های بعدی هم خوشم نیومد. به نظرم لازم بود یکم بیشتر به موضوعات پرداخته بشه و بیشتر و عمیق تر روشون بحث بشه. نه اینکه تو 10 صفحه در باب خشم تموم بشه.. صحبت کردن از خشم پدرومادر در شیوه ی تربیت به نظرم نمی تونه کل مطالب مربوط به خشم رو کاور کنه.
کلا فکر می کنم هر دو مشکلی که من با کتاب داشتم (تا حدی که 50 صفحه ی پایانی رو نخوندم حتی!) تقصیر نشر روزگارنو بوده، هم عنوان کتاب، هم انتخاب مقالاتی که هیچ هماهنگی ای با هم نداشتند.
نشر روزگار نو سری کتاب های ایده های بزرگ رو انتشار داده که دومین کتابش(اعترافات یک گناهکار/آگوستین، درباب خلوت گزینی/ دومونتین) رو هم خوندم و اصلا خوشم نیومد.
October 1, 2018
وقتی کسی مونتنی می خواند، انگار همزمان در حال خواندن پلوتارک، سنکا و سیسرو است.مونتنی ارجاع های زیادی به گفته ها و کتاب های پیشینیان خود می دهد.چون اگر کسی قبلا موضوعی را به شکل بهتری گفته، بهتر است که از او نقل قول کنیم.اما مونتنی باهوش تر از این حرف هاست. جایی در همین کتاب می گوید با این کار در واقع پشت افرادی که به آنها ارجاع داده قایم می شود تا اگر روزی درستی آن حرف زیر سوال رفت، این مونتنی نباشد که مقصر شناخته می شود. از بین چند کتابی که از گزیده ی مقالات خوانده ام، مقالات این کتاب از بقیه جالب تر بودند
July 17, 2016
تا حد زیادی انتظار منو برآورده نکرد. یه دلیل بزرگش همین بود که در مجموع اونقدرها به خلوتگزینی نپرداخته بود. و دلیل دیگهاش اینه که مونتنی از آدمهای زیادی نام میبره که من اطلاع درستی دربارهشون نداشتم. و همین موضوع هی ذهنم رو از موضوع اصلی دور میکرد. همین دیگه.
March 22, 2020
Sure, Montaigne pioneered the essay as a literary form, but like most first incarnations this feels underdeveloped. He just chats shit, every few pages landing on an observation which seems interesting, but when you consider it for a few seconds it’s already exhausted. His conclusions are full stops, watery, paper-thin.
Montaigne comes off as part incel and part yer da – even when he does say something interesting you’re either tuned out or just hoping he doesn’t say something bad. The book does pick up towards the end – shorter essays are definitely more suited to his blunt observational style – but the enjoyment from these few pearls of wisdom is offset by long indulgent passages and the frequent (and often unrelated) jabs at ‘obstinate women’.
The chapter ‘On Books’ is almost entirely M listing books he thinks are boring, seemingly oblivious to how tedious and long-winded his own writing is. There’s a level of self-indulgence and a lack of self-awareness that makes this book feel like it was written solely for the author to feel smug, and that takes it from being not enjoyable to actively unenjoyable. Montaigne says throughout that he’s writing in retirement, his aim seems purely to while away time, and to be honest when he first said that I should have put the book down. Instead I let him waste mine too.
Montaigne comes off as part incel and part yer da – even when he does say something interesting you’re either tuned out or just hoping he doesn’t say something bad. The book does pick up towards the end – shorter essays are definitely more suited to his blunt observational style – but the enjoyment from these few pearls of wisdom is offset by long indulgent passages and the frequent (and often unrelated) jabs at ‘obstinate women’.
The chapter ‘On Books’ is almost entirely M listing books he thinks are boring, seemingly oblivious to how tedious and long-winded his own writing is. There’s a level of self-indulgence and a lack of self-awareness that makes this book feel like it was written solely for the author to feel smug, and that takes it from being not enjoyable to actively unenjoyable. Montaigne says throughout that he’s writing in retirement, his aim seems purely to while away time, and to be honest when he first said that I should have put the book down. Instead I let him waste mine too.
December 9, 2013
This collection of essays was thoroughly enjoyable. Michel de Montaigne lived in the 16th century, and yet he seems extremely modern and accessible. His anecdotes and humor make his writing very easy to read.
Some of my favourite quotes:
"If I come across difficult passages in my reading I never bite my nails over them: after making a charge or two I let them be. If I settled down to them I would waste myself and my time, for my mind is made for the first jump. What I fail to see during my original charge I see even less when I stubborn it out."
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"Pain compels even the innocent to lie."
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"...Why is it any more permissible for fathers and schoolmasters to punish and flog children in anger? That is no longer correction, it is vengeance. ... Faults seen through anger are like objects seen through a mist: they appear larger."
Some of my favourite quotes:
"If I come across difficult passages in my reading I never bite my nails over them: after making a charge or two I let them be. If I settled down to them I would waste myself and my time, for my mind is made for the first jump. What I fail to see during my original charge I see even less when I stubborn it out."
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"Pain compels even the innocent to lie."
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"...Why is it any more permissible for fathers and schoolmasters to punish and flog children in anger? That is no longer correction, it is vengeance. ... Faults seen through anger are like objects seen through a mist: they appear larger."
April 28, 2020
بگذارید به جای هر یادداشتی داستانک زیر را تقدیم کنم به میشل دومونتنی به خاطر این کتاب
هرچند چیز چندان تاپی نشد اما تمام حرفم درباره کتاب کم حجم مونتنی همین است
نگاهش روی اعداد و حروف میدوید. بین قفسه ها قدم میزد و انگشتش را روی عطف کتاب ها می سراند. برچسب هایی با اعداد و حروف مختلف... اما او به دنبال هیچ کتابی نبود. نام ها را میخواند و میگذشت. گاهی کتابی را از یک طبقه برمیداشت و ورق میزد و باز سر جایش میگذاشت.
روبروی یک قفسه ایستاد و به بالاترین طبقه که فقط چند کتاب در آن چیده شده بود نگاه کرد. هیچ کدام از کتاب ها برچسب نداشتند. جلدهایشان پاره پوره بود. کتاب های مختلفی آنجا رها شده بودند. اسطوره، فلسفه، ادبیات، دین، علم...
قطورترین کتاب را برداشت و تورق کرد. خوشش نیامد و با پوزخند آن را روی همان طبقه انداخت اما ناگهان آن طبقه صدا کرد و کمی کج شد. فوری آن کتاب قطور را برداشت. تخته زیر کتاب ها پوسیده بود و هر لحظه ممکن بود کاملا از جا دربیاید و همه کتاب ها روی زمین بریزد. فرصتی نبود که کتابدار را صدا کند و دوست نداشت توضیح بدهد که تقصیری نداشته. یکی یکی همه کتاب ها را برداشت و روی زمین گذاشت. تخته را سر جایش صاف کرد اما مطمئن نبود چندان محکم باشد. تصمیم گرفت همان طور یکی یکی آنها را سر جایشان برگرداند
تا کتاب قطور را روی آن گذاشت تخته صدا کرد. آن را برداشت و کتاب کم حجم تری را روی تخته گذاشت اما باز هم تخته صدای خفیفی کرد. یکی یکی کتاب ها را به ترتیب حجم روی تخته میگذاشت و به اجبار همه را فوری برمیداشت. تا بالاخره نازک ترین کتاب را روی تخته گذاشت. این بار تخته صدا نکرد.
قبل از آن که بی سر و صدا کتاب ها را همان جا روی زمین رها کند و برود برگشت تا نگاهی به آن طبقه بازنشسته بیندازد. تنها کتاب لاغری روی آن بود: اصول مراقبت از قفسه های کتابخانه
هرچند چیز چندان تاپی نشد اما تمام حرفم درباره کتاب کم حجم مونتنی همین است
نگاهش روی اعداد و حروف میدوید. بین قفسه ها قدم میزد و انگشتش را روی عطف کتاب ها می سراند. برچسب هایی با اعداد و حروف مختلف... اما او به دنبال هیچ کتابی نبود. نام ها را میخواند و میگذشت. گاهی کتابی را از یک طبقه برمیداشت و ورق میزد و باز سر جایش میگذاشت.
روبروی یک قفسه ایستاد و به بالاترین طبقه که فقط چند کتاب در آن چیده شده بود نگاه کرد. هیچ کدام از کتاب ها برچسب نداشتند. جلدهایشان پاره پوره بود. کتاب های مختلفی آنجا رها شده بودند. اسطوره، فلسفه، ادبیات، دین، علم...
قطورترین کتاب را برداشت و تورق کرد. خوشش نیامد و با پوزخند آن را روی همان طبقه انداخت اما ناگهان آن طبقه صدا کرد و کمی کج شد. فوری آن کتاب قطور را برداشت. تخته زیر کتاب ها پوسیده بود و هر لحظه ممکن بود کاملا از جا دربیاید و همه کتاب ها روی زمین بریزد. فرصتی نبود که کتابدار را صدا کند و دوست نداشت توضیح بدهد که تقصیری نداشته. یکی یکی همه کتاب ها را برداشت و روی زمین گذاشت. تخته را سر جایش صاف کرد اما مطمئن نبود چندان محکم باشد. تصمیم گرفت همان طور یکی یکی آنها را سر جایشان برگرداند
تا کتاب قطور را روی آن گذاشت تخته صدا کرد. آن را برداشت و کتاب کم حجم تری را روی تخته گذاشت اما باز هم تخته صدای خفیفی کرد. یکی یکی کتاب ها را به ترتیب حجم روی تخته میگذاشت و به اجبار همه را فوری برمیداشت. تا بالاخره نازک ترین کتاب را روی تخته گذاشت. این بار تخته صدا نکرد.
قبل از آن که بی سر و صدا کتاب ها را همان جا روی زمین رها کند و برود برگشت تا نگاهی به آن طبقه بازنشسته بیندازد. تنها کتاب لاغری روی آن بود: اصول مراقبت از قفسه های کتابخانه
September 25, 2013
I love Montaigne and his essays , I'll read his complete as soon as I can , This short one didn't gratify my appetite for solitude , I found an interesting article on the internet which I thought it would be better to post it here .
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articl...
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articl...
April 28, 2016
از آثار کلاسیک فلسفه س و بحث کلی راجب تقابل بین فرد و اجتماع و مبارزه با تناقض گرایش انسان تنهاییه.. مونتنی در زمره ی کسانیه که در قرن هفده جنبه ی دگم و صلب علم گرایی نیوتنی رو با ارجاع اشخاص به درون خودشون
April 23, 2010
“I get others to say what I cannot put so well myself, sometimes because of the weakness of my language and sometimes because of the weakness of my intellect.” — Michel de Montaigne, On Books
I’ve never read de Montaigne before this. Wow, what a loss! The man is incredibly intelligent, astute and modern. If you hadn’t told me when he had lived, I would’ve guessed he had lived end of the 19th century. I can’t believe he actually lived at the end of the 16th century.
My copy is a selection of thirteen essays. My personal favourites were On Solitude, On Books, On Fear and On Sadness. I thoroughly enjoyed all the other ones as well, though On Virtue was kind of strange and I didn’t feel like it properly discussed virtue, exactly. But most of the essays were very illuminating and interesting, his style elegant but straightforward. I can’t wait to read more by him.
I’ve never read de Montaigne before this. Wow, what a loss! The man is incredibly intelligent, astute and modern. If you hadn’t told me when he had lived, I would’ve guessed he had lived end of the 19th century. I can’t believe he actually lived at the end of the 16th century.
My copy is a selection of thirteen essays. My personal favourites were On Solitude, On Books, On Fear and On Sadness. I thoroughly enjoyed all the other ones as well, though On Virtue was kind of strange and I didn’t feel like it properly discussed virtue, exactly. But most of the essays were very illuminating and interesting, his style elegant but straightforward. I can’t wait to read more by him.
April 9, 2017
There are other editions of Montaigne's complete essays and each has its virtues. This is just an introduction. If you're beginning a subject, 'Penguin's Great Ideas' series are really good to give you a short insight about the subject.
November 1, 2014
هذا الكتاب يعرض مجموعة مقالات للكاتب - أو لأقُل الحكيم - ميشيل دي مونتين: رجل قديم ينظر إلى العالم عبر نافذة كتبه, ولا يبذل جهداً لإخفاء تأثره بكلٍ من بلوتارخ وسينيكا, ويكتب كما لو كان مُؤرّخاً يُعد تقريراً لنخبةٍ من القرّاء المعاصرين. عن العزلة, الكتب, الغضب.. وأشياء أخرى.
December 9, 2016
"The greatest thing in the world is to know how to live to yourself."
February 12, 2022
‘’Sometimes it is the body which is the first to surrender to old age, sometimes too the soul; and I have known plenty of men whose brains grew weak before their stomachs or their legs; and it is all the more dangerous an infirmity in that the sufferer is hardly aware of it and its symptoms are not clear ones.’’
Denna bok lyfter fram kortare utdrag från Montaignes essäer och man får en gedigen inblick till hans tankevärld. Texterna berör alltifrån ensamhet; fantasins möjligheter; rädsla; ilska; till synen på livet och döden (och allt som pågår däremellan). Han ställer ofta jaget i relation till omvärlden, och pekar på de kontraster och spänningar som kan uppstå. Det hela sker på ett väldigt utforskande vis, och han drar ofta kopplingar till de gamla romarna i sina resonemang. Han uppmanar gång på gång till en slags självrannsakning. Samt att det aldrig kommer vara av värde att fly från obekväma situationer där problem har uppstått. När man flyr tar man liksom bara med sig dessa problem. Så om man istället accepterar situationen och känslan för vad den är, och försöker komma till insikt över vilka attribut det är som stör ens egen utveckling – då kan man bli fri på riktigt! Och någonstans där kommer även en sann lycka kunna infinna sig. Superfint att påminna sig om att lycka inte är någonting som vi kan förvänta oss att få via någon eller något annat. Den där grundlyckan måste först uppstå inom oss själva. Att enbart förlita sig på föränderliga omständigheter är inget som fungerar i längden. Montaigne belyser hur viktigt det är för människan att kunna ta makten över sig själv. Ett starkt och stabilt inre liv öppnar liksom upp världen lite mer. Mmm, superintressant läsning och blir sugen på att läsa det hela mer i sin helhet! + var även intressant hur han tog upp att just vår egen fantasi verkligen kan styra oss i vissa riktningar. Att man kan få för sig saker och agera därefter. Det mänskliga psyket är verkligen så pass starkt. Tyckte om denna lille bok. :) 🌱
Denna bok lyfter fram kortare utdrag från Montaignes essäer och man får en gedigen inblick till hans tankevärld. Texterna berör alltifrån ensamhet; fantasins möjligheter; rädsla; ilska; till synen på livet och döden (och allt som pågår däremellan). Han ställer ofta jaget i relation till omvärlden, och pekar på de kontraster och spänningar som kan uppstå. Det hela sker på ett väldigt utforskande vis, och han drar ofta kopplingar till de gamla romarna i sina resonemang. Han uppmanar gång på gång till en slags självrannsakning. Samt att det aldrig kommer vara av värde att fly från obekväma situationer där problem har uppstått. När man flyr tar man liksom bara med sig dessa problem. Så om man istället accepterar situationen och känslan för vad den är, och försöker komma till insikt över vilka attribut det är som stör ens egen utveckling – då kan man bli fri på riktigt! Och någonstans där kommer även en sann lycka kunna infinna sig. Superfint att påminna sig om att lycka inte är någonting som vi kan förvänta oss att få via någon eller något annat. Den där grundlyckan måste först uppstå inom oss själva. Att enbart förlita sig på föränderliga omständigheter är inget som fungerar i längden. Montaigne belyser hur viktigt det är för människan att kunna ta makten över sig själv. Ett starkt och stabilt inre liv öppnar liksom upp världen lite mer. Mmm, superintressant läsning och blir sugen på att läsa det hela mer i sin helhet! + var även intressant hur han tog upp att just vår egen fantasi verkligen kan styra oss i vissa riktningar. Att man kan få för sig saker och agera därefter. Det mänskliga psyket är verkligen så pass starkt. Tyckte om denna lille bok. :) 🌱
November 25, 2018
Nice taster compilation of great and wise essays by Montaigne! This collection is a little uneven though - hence 4 stars. Some essays are true gems, others less so. Still - this is an excellent pocket companion;)
February 14, 2023
نمره به ترجمهی فاجعهی مرضیه خسرویه :|
February 18, 2023
3.75*
These essays aged well.
These essays aged well.
December 5, 2023
Solid little philosophy book just telling you how to live and looking at certain aspects of the trials and tribulations of our existence. Four not five stars simply because he just spent a lot of time simping over ancient greats and not enough time being his silly self ! Regardless, a good quick read which I thoroughly enjoyed :)
May 17, 2017
On Books
"Among books affording plain delight, I judge that the Decameron of Boccaccio, Rabelais and the Basia of Johannes Secundus (if they are to be placed in this category) are worth spending time on."
"...
it has always seemed to me that in poetry Virgil, Lucretius, Catullus and Horace rank highest by far – especially Virgil in his Georgics , which I reckon to be the most perfect achievement in poetry; by a comparison with it one can easily see that there are passages in the Aeneid to which Virgil, if he had been able, would have given a touch of the comb. And in the Aeneid the fifth book seems to me the most perfect."
"Better than any other way this idea as I conceive it can be understood from a comparison between the Aeneid and the Orlando furioso . We can see the Aeneid winging aloft with a firm and soaring flight, always pursuing its goal: the Orlando furioso we see hopping and fluttering from tale to tale as from branch to branch, never trusting its wings except to cross a short distance, seeking to alight on every hedge lest its wind or strength should give out, Excursusque breves tentat . [Trying out its wings on little sorties.] "
On Conscience
"Conscience can fill us with fear, but she can also fill us with assurance and confidence. And I can say that I have walked more firmly through some dangers by reflecting on the secret knowledge I had of my own will and the innocence of my designs."
"Among books affording plain delight, I judge that the Decameron of Boccaccio, Rabelais and the Basia of Johannes Secundus (if they are to be placed in this category) are worth spending time on."
"...
it has always seemed to me that in poetry Virgil, Lucretius, Catullus and Horace rank highest by far – especially Virgil in his Georgics , which I reckon to be the most perfect achievement in poetry; by a comparison with it one can easily see that there are passages in the Aeneid to which Virgil, if he had been able, would have given a touch of the comb. And in the Aeneid the fifth book seems to me the most perfect."
"Better than any other way this idea as I conceive it can be understood from a comparison between the Aeneid and the Orlando furioso . We can see the Aeneid winging aloft with a firm and soaring flight, always pursuing its goal: the Orlando furioso we see hopping and fluttering from tale to tale as from branch to branch, never trusting its wings except to cross a short distance, seeking to alight on every hedge lest its wind or strength should give out, Excursusque breves tentat . [Trying out its wings on little sorties.] "
On Conscience
"Conscience can fill us with fear, but she can also fill us with assurance and confidence. And I can say that I have walked more firmly through some dangers by reflecting on the secret knowledge I had of my own will and the innocence of my designs."
December 30, 2015
Read in less than 3 hours but far from underappreciated. Little gems can be found in this tiny book. I thought it too highbrow, but then I took the unfamiliar tales of familiar names in footnotes as they were... In doing so I was able to focus on the chapter content rather than beat myself up over not poring over my old Philo readings before. Lessons: check. Humor: check.
April 6, 2019
whew this book was tough to get through, and i have to admit that i'm lost at certain points, but reading his musings makes me realise that people have always been concerned about the same things: the meaning of life and how we live it.
December 23, 2021
خلوت گزيني بحث اصلي كتاب نبود
كتاب از چندين سرفصل مختلف در باب :
(ترس، خشم، غم ، پايداري و ...) تشكيل شده
به شكلي خلاصه و جسته گريخته از نوشته هاي "ميشل دو مونتين" به اين مسائل پرداخته شده و در كل كتاب كاملي نيست
اما خواندنش هم خالي از لطف نيست
بخش : "خلوت گزيني ، غم و قدرت تخيل" بخشهاي مفيد و جالبي بود و ميشد از اين بخش ها به انديشه كلي فيلسوف پي برد
"بزرگترين دانش در جهان اين است كه بداني چگونه با خود زندگي كني"
"مخلص كلام اينكه بگذار ديگران در كنارمان باشند اما نه آنچنان سخت و تنگ كه جز با بريدن تكه اي از خود يا پوستمان نتوان ايشان را از خود جدا كرد"
كتاب از چندين سرفصل مختلف در باب :
(ترس، خشم، غم ، پايداري و ...) تشكيل شده
به شكلي خلاصه و جسته گريخته از نوشته هاي "ميشل دو مونتين" به اين مسائل پرداخته شده و در كل كتاب كاملي نيست
اما خواندنش هم خالي از لطف نيست
بخش : "خلوت گزيني ، غم و قدرت تخيل" بخشهاي مفيد و جالبي بود و ميشد از اين بخش ها به انديشه كلي فيلسوف پي برد
"بزرگترين دانش در جهان اين است كه بداني چگونه با خود زندگي كني"
"مخلص كلام اينكه بگذار ديگران در كنارمان باشند اما نه آنچنان سخت و تنگ كه جز با بريدن تكه اي از خود يا پوستمان نتوان ايشان را از خود جدا كرد"
March 27, 2021
Read for On Solitude, feeling that it would be quite relative in today's context during a pandemic, isolation, lockdown, etc. I ended up really enjoying Montaigne's work On Conscience and On the Power of Imagination.
August 26, 2024
Evidently, the author knew his classics and a whole lot of historical anecdotes. Yet, his knowledge only served to cover up and embellish the lack of depth in his personal reflections. His essays on fear, age, solitude, etc. are like medieval versions of some modern self-help books, devoid of any philosophical depth and only packed with ostentatious babblings of common sense.
February 25, 2018
Somehow takes inherently interesting topics and themes and makes them unrelentingly dull. That might be an achievement in itself, but not when the reader wastes their time having to read this.
August 9, 2016
From "On Books":
"I do not doubt that I often happen to talk of things which are treated better in the writings of master-craftsmen, and with more authenticity. What you have here is purely an assay of my natural, not at all of my acquired, abilities. Anyone who catches me out in ignorance does me no harm: I cannot vouch to other people for my reasonings: I can scarcely vouch for them to myself and am by no means satisfied with them. If anyone is looking for knowledge let him go where such fish are to be caught; there is nothing I lay claim to less. These are my own thoughts, by which I am striving to make known not matter but me. Perhaps I shall master that matter one day; or perhaps I did do so once when Fortune managed to bring me to places where light is thrown on it. But I no longer remember anything about that. I may be a man of fairly wide reading, but I retain nothing.
"So I guarantee you nothing for certain, except my making known what point I have so far reached in my knowledge of it.
.......
"When I express my opinions it is so as to reveal the measure of my sight not the measure of the thing."
"I do not doubt that I often happen to talk of things which are treated better in the writings of master-craftsmen, and with more authenticity. What you have here is purely an assay of my natural, not at all of my acquired, abilities. Anyone who catches me out in ignorance does me no harm: I cannot vouch to other people for my reasonings: I can scarcely vouch for them to myself and am by no means satisfied with them. If anyone is looking for knowledge let him go where such fish are to be caught; there is nothing I lay claim to less. These are my own thoughts, by which I am striving to make known not matter but me. Perhaps I shall master that matter one day; or perhaps I did do so once when Fortune managed to bring me to places where light is thrown on it. But I no longer remember anything about that. I may be a man of fairly wide reading, but I retain nothing.
"So I guarantee you nothing for certain, except my making known what point I have so far reached in my knowledge of it.
.......
"When I express my opinions it is so as to reveal the measure of my sight not the measure of the thing."
July 26, 2016
I really do not know what to make of this one; I want to like it a lot, but I am afraid it's just "okay."
Based upon the advertisement of this little book, it's literally about everything I care about: solitude, books, and sleep. There are a couple of other subjects of discussion as well...
I did like those sections; however, the rest of it was in essence describable as "ehh." I really cannot begin to get started on this one section (I believe it was either in "Fear" or "Anger") where Montaigne wrote three paragraphs about farting. Personally, I do not enjoy reading about that occurrence, so it was awkward and hard to stomach.
I liked it but I didn't, so I don't know.
Based upon the advertisement of this little book, it's literally about everything I care about: solitude, books, and sleep. There are a couple of other subjects of discussion as well...
I did like those sections; however, the rest of it was in essence describable as "ehh." I really cannot begin to get started on this one section (I believe it was either in "Fear" or "Anger") where Montaigne wrote three paragraphs about farting. Personally, I do not enjoy reading about that occurrence, so it was awkward and hard to stomach.
I liked it but I didn't, so I don't know.
April 21, 2019
"When the city of Nola was sacked by Barbarians, the local Bishop Paulinus lost everything and was thrown into prison; yet this was his prayer: 'Keep me O Lord from feeling this loss. Thou knowest that the Barbarians have so far touched nothing of mine.'"
'The greatest thing in the world to know is how to live to yourself.'
To be revered and discounted in equal measure, 'On Solitude' is a necessary read.
Also, Montaigne really hates Cicero.
'The greatest thing in the world to know is how to live to yourself.'
To be revered and discounted in equal measure, 'On Solitude' is a necessary read.
Also, Montaigne really hates Cicero.
January 13, 2013
This was a disappointment. I saw it sitting on a shelf next to Seneca's "On the Shortness of Life", so I equated the two. However, this is much less insightful, much more pretentious, and much less interesting.
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