Anyone read pic related? Seen him mentioned a few times on here,

>>9539716
>wondering if it's worth the 1300 pages
what did he mean by this

>>9539716
>wondering if it's worth the 1300 pages
You're not worthy to read Montaigne.

>>9539733
>>9539851
Yeah I know, I could of worded it better.

I just meant it's long and I don't want to invest in it when i'm not sure what i'm getting.

File: notsure.png (212KB, 552x414px) Image search: [Google]

212KB, 552x414px

>>9539963

>>9539994
Meh, I guess my articulation is shit, whatever, i'll just buy the damn thing.

>>9539716
currently reading and it's fucking beautiful honestly, possibly the most well read man to ever exist

Yes, 1300 pages of timeless wisdom is worth the effort.

>>9539716
Absolutely.

>your first language wasn't latin

>>9540244
lmao

>>9539716
Besides the probable consensus (which my vote would support) that yes, he's worth the page count, also keep in mind the format. This isn't a novel; you don't have to read it all at once, and you don't need to remember details from earlier essays to enjoy later ones. Also many if not most of the essays are <5 pages, so you're hardly "committing" to anything.

Barzun's "Dawn to decadence" suggests reading the essays in order to see the growth of Montaigne's self-awareness of his humanity (as in human nature, not as a synonym of mercy/clemency) and his personal character. Barzun also credits him with being the first person to discover the full field of the human condition, and suggests that few if any have ever matched his ability to know himself, given that he literally spent his life doing so.

He's also a contemporary of Shakespeare, who is often credited as giving literature its first fully human "characters" rather than "character types," and was at least somewhat influenced by Montaigne (not sure if the influence was reciprocal).

So, yes, give it a shot. It's a book about life from many angles, drawing on and distilling the relevant parts of some of the greatest ancient texts and histories, but using them to comment on a much broader field of issues than any given individual ancient writer.

>>9539716
the ultimate comfy bedside book

>>9539716
I have that book. You really don't need The Complete Works, just the essays. All his letters are about how he cannot stop thinking about his boyfriends cock while he is away on holiday.

>>9539716
they're short unconnected essays.

you're supposed to dip in and out of them for pleasure.

sort of like a woman.

>>9539716
OP he's the best friend I never met. If there was only one man in history I could have met for a coffee or a beer it would have been Montaigne.

I am not a clever man. How dense are these essays?

OP, here, thanks for the replies. Going to order the complete essays.

>>9542131
older translations available online. pick one at random and come back and report to us, why don't you?

I don't like his essays. They seem like a mixture of aphoristic plattitudes and intense navel-gazing. Loadsa peeps like him though.

>>9541018
I'd be very surprised if it was reciprocal; when Montaigne died, Shakespeare's career was just getting started.

>>9541018
>>9542379
Also, good post.

>>9542370
I don't think those are fair criticisms of Montaigne desu. The essays are a man making an attempt to understand himself in a more profound way and often he ends up with no real conclusions regarding the questions he asks, hence his skepticism. You seem to be treating him as if he writes 16th Century self-help books, but his goal with the essays is ultimately a deeply personal one.

>>9539716
One of the best experience you may ever had.

>>9539716
I recommend you read Seneca as well. It will help you understand Montaigne.

>>9539716
Yes, it is.

>>9544240
Quick aside: How much, if any, of Seneca builds on Cicero? I'd like to read Seneca (especially his moral essays) especially because there isn't a huge amount to get through, but he comes well after Cicero, of whom there IS a huge amount to get through (if one were to read even a decent chunk of his works).