The Essays

Michel Eyquem de Montaigne was one of the most significant philosophers. His fame rests on the Essays, a collection of a large number of short subjective treatments of various topics published in 1580, inspired by his studies in the classics, especially Plutarch.

It is Montaigne’s book, which he wrote in a kind of crafted rhetoric designed to intrigue and involve the reader, sometimes appearing to move in a stream of thought from topic to topic. His arguments are often supported with quotations from Ancient Greek, Latin and Italian texts, which he quotes in the original source.