Michel de Montaigne

MICHEL DE MONTAIGNE (France, 1533-1592),
"Essais de Michel seigneur de Montaigne". 5 volumes.
Printer: P. Gosse and J Neaulme. The Hague, 1727.
Original 17th century edition.
In good condition, with damp stains.
Measurements: 17 x 10 x 4 cm.
Michel Eyquem, Monsieur de Montaigne was one of the most relevant figures of thought during the French Renaissance. He is especially recognized for having consolidated and popularized the essay as a literary form, combining with originality personal anecdotes and autobiographical elements with profound intellectual reflections. His work had a direct influence on numerous writers of Western literature, and his Essays are among the most influential texts ever written in that genre.
During his lifetime, he was more valued as a statesman than as an author. The penchant of his writings for digression, personal memoir, and intimate reflection was regarded by many of his contemporaries as a departure from proper literary style, rather than as a stylistic innovation. His claim that he himself was the subject of his book was interpreted in his time as an expression of vanity. Nevertheless, with the passage of time, Montaigne was recognized as a symbol of the critical thinking and intellectual freedom that were beginning to break through at the time. His famous skeptical question, Que sçay-je ? ("What do I know?"), synthetically expresses the inquisitive spirit that characterizes his work.