The Complete Essays of Montaigne
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Narrated by:
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David McCallion
About this listen
One of the most remarkable figures of the Renaissance, Michel de Montaigne was a brilliant French philosopher and statesman whose work directly influenced René Descartes, Friedrich Nietzsche, Isaac Asimov and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He was a humanist and a sceptic, with an insatiable and wide-ranging curiosity. In 1571, on his 38th birthday, he withdrew from public life and retired to the library in his castle tower, where he assembled a body of work that is still highly relevant today.
This collection contains more than 100 chapters, written in a surprisingly accessible manner. He weaves together personal anecdotes, serious intellectual argument, and quotes from classical Greek and Roman philosophers. While this style was criticized during his lifetime as being overly self-indulgent, he has since been credited with popularizing the essay as a respectable literary form. Using his own experiences and judgement as a lens through which to view the world, his essays cover such disparate topics as war horses, cannibalism, and ancient customs; as well as heavyweight ideas such as war, death, religion and truth.
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How to Live
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This question obsessed Renaissance writers, none more than Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, perhaps the first recognizably modern individual. A nobleman, public official, and winegrower, he wrote free-roaming explorations of his thought and experience, unlike anything written before. He called them essays, meaning “attempts” or “tries.” He put whatever was in his head into them: his tastes in wine and food, his childhood memories, the way his dog’s ears twitched when it was dreaming, as well as the religious wars....
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Stands next to the Bible and M.A.'s Meditations
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By: Michel Eyquem de Montaigne, and others
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What listeners say about The Complete Essays of Montaigne
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Renee Downing
- 02-17-18
Unlistenable
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Nothing. It was just a bad idea.
What was most disappointing about Michel Eyquem de Montaigne’s story?
Not a story at all. A great book but a terrible audible book.
How could the performance have been better?
Some sign of life.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Chagrin. At having been dumb enough to buy it.
Any additional comments?
No
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9 people found this helpful