Michel de Montaigne – Bibliography

Primary Sources:

Essais, Pierre Villey (ed.), 3 volumes, Alcan, 1922–1923, revised by V.-L. Saulnier, 1965. Gives the 3 strata indications, probable dates of composition of the chapters, and many sources.

La Théologie naturelle de Raymond Sebond, traduicte nouvellement en François par Messire Michel, Seigneur de Montaigne, Chevalier de l’ordre du Roy et Gentilhomme ordinaire de sa chambre. Ed. by Dr Armaingaud, Paris: Conard, 1935.

Lettres. Ed. by Arthur Armaingaud, Paris, Conard, 1939 (vol. XI, in Œuvres complètes, pp. 159–266).

Le Journal de Voyage en Italie de Michel de Montaigne. Ed. by François Rigolot, Paris: PUF, 1992.

Michel de Montaigne. Les Essais, J. Balsamo, C. Magnien-Simonin & M. Magnien (eds.) (with “Notes de lecture” and “Sentences peintes” edited by Alain Legros), Paris, “Pléiade”, Gallimard, 2007. The Essays are based on the 1595 published version.

Secondary Sources:

“Michel De Montaigne and the ‘Nouveaux Pyrrhoniens’.” The History of Scepticism from Erasmus to Spinoza, by Richard Henry Popkin, University of California Press, 1979, pp. 42–64. Google Books.

This chapter describes Montaigne’s influence on the revival of sceptic thought in the 16^th century in France. A particular work of his, Apologie de Raimond Sebond, is discussed as Montaigne’s most important Pyrrhonist work that served as an ideological base for the French Counter-Reformation movement of the same period. Montaigne also explores fairly extreme fideism in this work, making claims that were, and still are, entirely ambiguous as to whether they were defending or attacking Christianity.

Compayré, Gabriel, and J. E. Mansion. Montaigne and the Education of the Judgment. T.Y. Crowell & Co., 1908.

This book discusses Montaigne’s pedagogical musings and examines his writings on education. While he writes specifically about the education of a noble child, his assertions can be applied to children from all groups as he criticizes the education systems of his time and calls for a more general education that precedes specialization, even acknowledging the potential utility of a role of the state in education. Ultimately, it is explained, Montaigne’s pedagogy revolved around the idea of common sense and the ability of a person to make judgements and think for themselves. The influence of this line of thinking from Montaigne is then addressed in its reflections in the writings of Locke and Rousseau, among many other prominent thinkers that came after his own death.

Starobinski, Jean. Montaigne in Motion. University of Chicago Press, 1985.

This book attempts to explore the progression of Montaigne’s sceptic philosophy throughout the Essays. The author attempts to focus on the consequences of the decision to undergo the sceptic exercise that Montaigne engaged in, closely following lines of thought related to his criticism of the rampant duplicity of the world that surrounded him. This exercise is not unlike that which Descartes will take on years later as described in Meditations, but centers on uprooting custom and tradition, tearing off masks and curtains to reveal the true intentions of human actions and be free from error by certifying that the only judgements made are those that come exclusively and entirely from within, free from reliance on others or outside opinions.

home
biography
philosophical position
comparison
closing argument
bibliography