On Solitude (Penguin Great Ideas) - Softcover

Montaigne, Michel De

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141399252 ISBN 13: 9780141399256

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2010

Synopsis

For the true bibliophile and design-savvy book lover, Penguin's celebrated Great Ideas series features classic works by some of history's most innovative thinkers.

“Let us leave aside those long comparisons between the solitary life and the active one; and as for that fine adage used as a cloak by greed and ambition, ‘That we are not born for ourselves alone but for the common weal,’ let us venture to refer to those who have joined in the dance: let them bare their consciences and confess whether rank, office and all the bustling business of the world are not sought on the contrary to gain private profit from the common weal. The evil methods which men use to get ahead in our century clearly show that their aims cannot be worth much.”

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About this title

About the Author

Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne, was born in 1533, the son and heir of Pierre, Seigneur de Montaigne (two previous children dying soon after birth). He was brought up to speak Latin as his mother tongue and always retained a Latin turn of mind; though he knew Greek, he preferred to use translations. After studying law he eventually became counselor to the Parlement of Bordeaux. He married in 1565. In 1569 he published his French version of the Natural Theology of Raymond Sebond; his Apology is only partly a defense of Sebond and sets skeptical limits to human reasoning about God, man and nature. He retired in 1571 to his lands at Montaigne, devoting himself to reading and reflection and to composing his Essays (first version, 1580). He loathed the fanaticism and cruelties of the religious wars of the period, but sided with Catholic orthodoxy and legitimate monarchy. He was twice elected Mayor of Bordeaux (1581 and 1583), a post he held for four years. He died at Montaigne (1592) while preparing the final, and richest, edition of his Essays.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0141399252
• ISBN 13: 9780141399256
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144