Montaigne
A Life
Published on 24. January 2017
Book
Hardback
832 pages
978-0-691-16787-9 (ISBN)
Description
One of the most important writers and thinkers of the Renaissance, Michel de Montaigne (1533-92) helped invent a literary genre that seemed more modern than anything that had come before. But did he do it, as he suggests in his Essays, by retreating to his chateau, turning his back on the world, and stoically detaching himself from his violent times? In this definitive biography, Philippe Desan, one of the world's leading authorities on Montaigne, overturns this longstanding myth by showing that Montaigne was constantly concerned with realizing his political ambitions--and that the literary and philosophical character of the Essays largely depends on them. The most comprehensive and authoritative biography of Montaigne yet written, this sweeping narrative offers a fascinating new picture of his life and work. As Desan shows, Montaigne always considered himself a political figure and he conceived of each edition of the Essays as an indispensable prerequisite to the next stage of his public career.
He lived through eight civil wars, successfully lobbied to be raised to the nobility, and served as mayor of Bordeaux, special ambassador, and negotiator between Henry III and Henry of Navarre. It was only toward the very end of Montaigne's life, after his political failure, that he took refuge in literature. But, even then, it was his political experience that enabled him to find the right tone for his genre. In this essential biography, we discover a new Montaigne--caught up in the events of his time, making no separation between private and public life, and guided by strategy first in his words and silences. Neither candid nor transparent, but also not yielding to the cynicism of his age, this Montaigne lends a new depth to the Montaigne of literary legend.
He lived through eight civil wars, successfully lobbied to be raised to the nobility, and served as mayor of Bordeaux, special ambassador, and negotiator between Henry III and Henry of Navarre. It was only toward the very end of Montaigne's life, after his political failure, that he took refuge in literature. But, even then, it was his political experience that enabled him to find the right tone for his genre. In this essential biography, we discover a new Montaigne--caught up in the events of his time, making no separation between private and public life, and guided by strategy first in his words and silences. Neither candid nor transparent, but also not yielding to the cynicism of his age, this Montaigne lends a new depth to the Montaigne of literary legend.
Reviews / Votes
"Philippe Desan, in Montaigne: A Life (Princeton; translated from the French by Steven Rendall and Lisa Neal), his immense new biography ... insists that our 'Chateau d'Yquem' Montaigne, Montaigne the befuddled philosopher and sweet-sharp humanist, is an invention, untrue to the original. Our Montaigne was invented only in the early nineteenth century. The Eyquem family, in their day, made no wine at all. They made their fortune in salted fish--and Desan's project is to give us a salty rather than a sweet Montaigne."--Adam Gopnik, New Yorker "The 'Essays,' Montaigne informed his readers, were written for a 'domestic and private' end and not for 'either you or my own glory.' He presented himself 'in my simple, natural, ordinary fashion, without straining or artifice; for it is myself that I portray.' Philippe Desan's Montaigne: A Life is animated by the purpose of detonating this carefully cultivated image. It is an effort at disenchantment. Montaigne's informality and transparency, in Mr. Desan's telling, were rhetorical strategies and triumphs of artifice. Montaigne's exploration of the private self was not a natural impulse but an adjustment required by the defeat of his considerable political ambitions... [Desan] seeks to drag the solitary genius back into his social milieu, exposing his conventionality. Montaigne claimed to have portrayed himself 'naked' to posterity. Mr. Desan removes the last of his garments."--Jeffrey Collins, Wall Street Journal "Desan, an expert on French essayist Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), takes readers on a detailed yet sweeping journey through the world of one of the Renaissance's most important literary figures."--Publishers Weekly "Revisiting the public and private life of the extraordinary humanist in light of religious divisions of the 16th century... [Montaigne: A Life is] a hefty biography."--Kirkus "Desan's biography is full of fascinating details about Montaigne and his world."--Glenn Altschuler, Tulsa World "An elaborate, exhaustive, and frequently brilliant restoration of Montaigne's life."--Dominic Green, National ReviewMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
2 halftones. 19 line illus.
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
1247 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-16787-9 (9780691167879)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
12/2016
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
from
€103.95
Available for download
Persons
Philippe Desan is the Howard L. Willett Professor in Renaissance Literature and History of Culture at the University of Chicago and the author of many books.
Content
Acknowledgments ix Prologue xi Introduction xvii Questions of Method and the Politics of a Book xix Part One-Ambitions 1 The Eyquems' Social Ascension 3 A Family Matter 7 "Nobilibus parentibus" 13 Living Nobly 20 "We Latinized Ourselves" 28 The Balance Sheet of a Humanist Education 37 2 A First Career as a Magistrate (1556-1570) 48 Parlementary Habitus 55 From the Cour des Aides in Perigueux to the Parlement in Bordeaux 67 Michel de Montaigne, Royal Councillor 84 The Religious Question 101 3 La Boetie and Montaigne: Discourse on Servitude and Essay of Allegiance 112 The Letter about La Boetie's Death 117 La Boetie's Political Treatises: The Memorandum and the Discourse 123 Voluntary Servitude and Allegiance 133 The Politics of a Friendship 143 4 "Witness My Cannibals": The Encounter with the Indians of the New World 155 Tupinambas and Tabajaras 159 From Rouen to Bordeaux 167 "Their Warfare Is Wholly Noble and Generous" 175 A "Simulacrum of the Truth" 179 5 The Making of a Gentleman (1570-1580) 183 The Break with the Parlement 185 Montaigne as Editor of La Boetie's Works 199 Dedicatees Influential at the Court 207 An Inconvenient Publication 217 An Influential Neighbor: The Marquis of Trans 222 Honorific Rewards and Clientelism 232 Montaigne at Work 246 6 The Essais of 1580: Moral, Political, and Military Discourses 254 "A Discourse on My Life and Actions" 256 The First Reader of the Essais 269 "Of the Battle of Gods" 277 An Apology for Sebond or a Justification of Montaigne? 285 A Skeleton in the Closet 299 A Royal Audience and a Military Siege 307 Part Two-Practices 7 The Call of Rome, or How Montaigne Never Became an Ambassador (1580-1581) 319 On Territory "Subject to the Emperor" 321 The Ambassador's Trade 326 A Montaigne in Spain 351 Montaigne in Rome 357 Paul de Foix and the Suspicion of Heresy 371 Roman Citizen 377 The Essais "Castigated and Brought into Harmony with the Opinions of the Monkish Doctors" 386 The Sociability of the Baths 392 The Travel Journal and the Secretary 401 8 "Messieurs of Bordeaux Elected Me Mayor of Their City" (1581-1585) 408 The Mayor's Book 412 Bordeaux and Its Administration 422 The Public Welfare 436 A Contested Reelection 444 Manager of the City and "Tender Negotiator" 455 An "Administration ... without a Mark or a Trace"? 473 9 "Benignity of the Great" and "Public Ruin" (1585-1588) 482 "Through an Extraordinarily Ticklish Part of the Country" 487 Secret Mission 501 "I Buy Printers in Guienne, Elsewhere They Buy Me" 508 Imprisoned in the Bastille 523 "A Girl in Picardy" 530 Observer at the Estates General of Blois 539 "Actum est de Gallia" 545 10 The Marginalization of Montaigne (1588-1592) 549 A Tranquil Life 551 "The Only Book in the World of Its Kind" 566 From History to the Essay: Commynes and Tacitus 580 Socrates or Political Suicide 589 Montaigne's Death 603 Part Three-Post Mortem 11 Montaigne's Political Posterity 613 Political Appropriations 614 Censure and Morality 621 Epilogue 631 Abbreviations 635 Notes 637 Bibliography 723 Translations Cited 765 Index 767