Essays

When he wrote his famous essays, Montaigne was creating a literary form never attempted before. The resulting success is a testament to the strength and warmth of his personality. For in thses pieces, Mantaigne attempted to discover the essence of himself, testing his reactions to different subjects and situations and so finding out which of his opinions were conditioned by external factors, which an integral part of his nature. Against a brilliant range of subjects—among them friendship, cannibals and the custom of wearing clothes—he shows himself to be frank, objective, amusing and totally without prejudice.

[Taken from the back cover]