I haven't read Montaigne's Essays but know him (and them) by reputation. This biography makes the case that Michel Eyquem de Montaigne invented the essay form as a means of capturing the flow of thought and experience. He felt that his extensive classical reading addressed how one ought to live but no how one actually lives. His goal inevitably lead him to write wandering, discursive pieces that sometimes got too personal for his readers. The cumulative impact of his 107 essays is a portrait of a specific individual in which many people see themselves.
According to Bakewell, Montaigne's most distinctive features are his amor fati, his enthusiastic embrace of our limitations, and his keen interest in other's perspectives. In other words, he takes the world as it presents itself rather than trying to mold it to fit his preconceived ideas.
How to Live describes the major events in Montaigne's life, provides a précis of the classical philosophical doctrines that informed his worldview, performs literary criticism about the Essays, and reviews how different periods have responded to his work. Bakewell's organizational conceit -- with chapters based on various answers to the question of "how to live" -- doesn't quite work, but it's hard to hold this failure against her since Montaigne's essays rarely stuck to their stated topic either.
I found Bakewell's version of Montaigne inspiring. I am particularly taken with the idea of retiring from public life to write formless disquisitions on whatever catches my fancy. It's similar to the inspiration I felt when I read Marcus Aurelius.
I will, of course, need to track down an edition of Essays.
No comments:
Post a Comment