"A superb achievement, one that successfully brings together in accessible form the work of two major writers of Renaissance France. This is now the default version of Montaigne in English." —Timothy Hampton, University of California, Berkeley
"Inspired. In every page—beginning with Atkinson's brilliant Introduction—this magical Montaigne betrays a lifetime of meditation on its subject." —Stephen G. Nichols, Johns Hopkins University
"A superb achievement, one that successfully brings together in accessible form the work of two major writers of Renaissance France. This is now the default version of Montaigne in English."
—Timothy Hampton, Professor of French and Comparative Literature, University of California, Berkeley
"Inspired. In every page—beginning with Atkinson's brilliant Introduction—this magical Montaigne betrays a lifetime of meditation on its subject."
—Stephen G. Nichols, James M. Beall Professor Emeritus of French and Humanities, Johns Hopkins University
"The translators pull off the difficult trick of capturing the whole spectrum of Montaigne’s voices. . . . A thorough, engaging, and wholly readable translation, whose rich and informative guidance for the non-specialist will also be of use for academic readers and teachers of the period."
—William McKenzie, St. Hilda’s College, Oxford (adapted from MLR)
"Excellent textual apparatus. Those reading Montaigne for the first time will be well supported."
—Megan Gallagher, UCLA, in (adapted from Comitatus)
"The inclusion of La Boétie's Discourse truly sets this new translation apart. If La Boétie's thesis does not resonate with today's undergraduates, then we should all truly begin to despair…. Highly recommended."
—Michael Wolfe, St. John’s University (adapted from Sixteenth Century Journal)
Contents
Translators’ Preface
Introduction
Two Thinkers for Our Time
Montaigne and His Time
Montaigne the Essayist
Étienne de La Boétie and His Time
Montaigne and La Boétie
Montaigne, La Boétie, and the Discourse on Voluntary Servitude
La Boétie and the Discourse on Voluntary Servitude
Saying No to a Friend
Michel de Montaigne, Selected Essays
To the Reader
BOOK I
1. By Differing Means We Attain the Same End
8. Idleness
20 [19]. Through Philosophy We Learn How to Die
21 [20]. The Power of the Imagination
26 [25]. The Education of Children
28 [27]. Friendship
31 [30]. The Cannibals
39 [38]. Solitude
50. Democritus and Heraclitus
BOOK II
6. Practice
11. Cruelty
17. Being Presumptuous
18. Correcting
28. To Every Thing There Is a Season
30. A Malformed Child
BOOK III
2. Repenting
12. Physiognomy
13. Experience
Étienne de La Boétie, Discourse on Voluntary Servitude
Endnotes
Index
About the Authors:
James B. Atkinson is an independent scholar. David Sices is Professor Emeritus of French and Italian, Dartmouth College. Their free-standing translation of La Boétie’s Discourse on Voluntary Servitude and their edited translation The Comedies of Machiavelli are also published by Hackett.