Literature Humanities 07-08

Montaigne's Use Of Experiences In His Writings

The main feature of Montaigne's essays that seemed to jump out at me was that Montaigne seems to both philosophize and compose vicariously, which is especially odd for a man who has shut himself up in his private estate and cut himself off from most outside contact. Montaigne's essays, which one would think would represent some form of his internal stream-of-consciousness, focus an awful lot upon external experiences or thinking, oftentimes taking them from others. In "On Cannibals" he springboards off of recalling his conversations with another unnamed man who had lived for a time with the "savages" and continues to compare contemporary European culture with his own secondhand understanding of that of the cannibals. "On the Power of the Imagination" seemed to be chock-full of references to multiple outside texts and persons that the reader may or may not be familiar with. When it comes down to it, it seems that Montaigne speaks of the works and experiences of others frequently, and yet does not seem to reference his own firsthand experiences in any sort of frequency; instead he peruses those outside sources and arrives at his conclusions through logical consideration and extrapolation. As we mentioned in class, Montaigne was hardly a typical Frenchman; I believe Sierra referred to him as a person living in contemporary French culture, and yet not being "of" said culture. While being particularly literate and articulate, Montaigne seems never really seems to place himself within his own perusals, even in the longer, more introspective and thoughtful essays like "On Repentance" and "On Experience." The closest he gets is his cataloging of his preferences. Considering what we know about Montaigne as an individual, do you find him to be convincing in his conclusions? How do you feel about his use of outside sources in his arguments? Would you think the same of these essays if you didn't know about Montaigne's background? Cheers! Devon

Montaigne's Relevance and Intentions

Sorry this is late guys: I want to get back to the discussion we kind of started to have yesterday surrounding Montaigne's position in society and, as an extension thereof, the relevance of his text. As we've seen, Montaigne's upbringing is not similar to that of most of the people in France at the time he's writing this. In "To The Reader," Montaigne states, "I want to appear in my simple, natural, and everyday dress, without strain or artifice; for it is myself that I portray." He does so much talk about portraying himself out of his isolation, and at one point in "On Experience" even says, "I would rather understand myself well by self-study than by reading Cicero" (354). My question, though, is what is Montaigne trying to do? This seems a rather asinine question at first, but to be really honest, at the end of the day, I still myself don't really have any idea what his real purpose is. He jumps back and forth between this idea of a portrait for his family and friends, yet at the same time tends to focus on his own self-understanding. Even upon going back and reading "On Idleness," I cannot help but think that maybe this entire collection of essays is not the product of a focused, isolated, meditative period, but rather a long few months or years of idleness, in which Montaigne, left to his own devices, took his thoughts and "recorded them in writing, hoping in time to make [his] mind ashamed of them" (28). So my question still stands. What on earth is Montaigne's real purpose and/or intention here? Who is his audience? If he is wealthier and more privileged than everyone else around him, who is actually reading this? Do you think he even knew? -Zach Lundin

From "On Experience" p.356

I, who pretend to nothing else, find in myself such an infinite depth and variety that the sole fruit of my study is to make me feel how much I still have to learn. To this weakness of mine, which I so often admit, I owe my tendency to be modest, to accept the beliefs laid down for me, and to be consistently cool and modern in my opinions.

I also owe to it my hatred for that tiresome and wrangling arrogance which believes and trusts entirely in itself, and is the chief enemy of learning and truth.

The Portrait of Montaigne

In the "To the Reader" section, Montaigne claims that his purpose in writing this collection of essays is "solely for the pleasure of [his] relatives and friends so that, when they have lost [him]—which they soon must—they may recover some features of [his] character and disposition, and thus keep the memory they have of [him] more completely and vividly alive" (24). In a sense, Montaigne wanted to use these essays to paint a portrait of himself to his relatives and friends. The portrait was meant to endure the "slings and arrows of outrageous Fortune" and withstand the degenerative effect that time has on living things. In other words, he wanted to provide his acquaintances with a—not considering the deterioration of a canvas over time—never changing image of himself. Nevertheless, it seems as if Montaigne not only aspires to create such a portrait for his family and friends but that he actually transforms himself into a human being of utmost constancy. In his essay "On Experience," Montaigne writes that "habit has already, unconsciously, so impressed its stamp upon me in certain things that I call any deviation from it an excess" (367). Montaigne also writes in his "On Repentance" essay: "In matters where I have only to exercise my judgment, others' opinions may serve me as confirmation, but do not deter me. I listen to them all politely and gravely; but I do not remember ever, to this day, having trusted any but my own" (247). It seems as if Montaigne not only sequestered himself for 10 years while writing his collection of essays, but conveys a message in his essays that he actually isolated himself from society throughout his life. He had a very strict regimen that he adhered to, and he refused to entertain the opinions of others. In some sense, Montaigne's character actually transformed into a living portrait—one that aged with the passing of time, but that had everlasting and unfaltering ideas permanently imprinted. So my question is: Does Montaigne accomplish the goal that he claimed he was aiming for in the "To the Reader" section? To what extent is Montaigne's character, as portrayed through these essays, a portrait of himself? Do you believe that Montaigne's approach to creating an eternal image of himself is an effective one? Why? -Mike

The Power of the Imagination

Throughout the *Essays*, Montaigne speaks much on the power of the imagination- that is, the power of the mind. In his essay titled "On the power of the imagination", for example, Montaigne relates the belief in "miracles, visions and enchantments" to the "power of imagination acting principally on the minds of the common people" that are easily influenced. Interestingly enough, he later states in this essay that even doctors look to maneuver the minds of their patients as they look to ultimately make the mere sight of medicine the cure for their patients' problems. His assertion on the power of the imagination, however, is not just found in this one essay. In his concluding essay, "On experience", Montaigne once again highlights the power of a person's mind when he discusses his condition since he developed stones. He begins by stating that he hardly ever consults physicians on his health. In addition to the reasons which he stated in "On the power of the imagination", doctors "fill your ears with their prognostications" -- he says. Clearly, he strongly believes that healing is actually a matter of deceiving our minds .He chose to not join others with the same condition in the "tiresome diet" and "unpleasant medicinal drugs" which were believed to have the cure, instead choosing to "treat [his] imagination as gently as [he] could" by not distressing it with such decisions .He owed his recovery to "good fortune" (and his "well-treated" imagination, of course). So looking back on the *Essays*, what do you make of Montaigne's argument on the "power of the imagination"? What purpose do you think he had in emphasizing the "power of the imagination"? And -- how much do you believe in the "power of the imagination?" -Tracey L.