Michel de Montaigne - The Complete Essays (Penguin Classics)

Over the years I have kept a copy of the Essays by my favorite reading chair to be enjoyed at random, particularly in the middle of the night when Entropy seems to hold the upper hand. They exercise a remarkable calming effect.

Seduced by the idea of having a complete set of all the Essays, I initially opted for the complete Screech translation, but found it wooden and pedantic. I moved to the Cohen translation [[ASIN:014017897X Montaigne: Essays]], which does not include all of the Essays, but has all of the major ones and is far more enjoyable.

The subject of this book is Michel de Montaigne, a 16th century frenchman, famous for writing this book. The topics he covers range from the wisdom of the ancient philosophers to everyday nuisances present in the life of the late 16th century. The overriding theme throughout is his focus on himself, the only subject he is sure that he knows better than anyone else. This book is valuable because he writes about subjects that are still relevant to today, over 400 years later, and will continue to be relevant throughout man's history to come. He asks questions that every human finds himself asking at some point. He focuses on ethics and theology and the human soul, and much more.

His writing style is relaxing and candid. The book is broken up into numerous seemingly disjointed sections and can be read for 10 minutes or a couple hours at a time. Montaigne writes in a friendly tone but also covers plenty of serious subjects. This book is unique in providing what life was like for one man who lived over four centuries ago.

The subject of this book is Michel de Montaigne, a 16th century frenchman, famous for writing this book. The topics he covers range from the wisdom of the ancient philosophers to everyday nuisances present in the life of the late 16th century. The overriding theme throughout is his focus on himself, the only subject he is sure that he knows better than anyone else. This book is valuable because he writes about subjects that are still relevant to today, over 400 years later, and will continue to be relevant throughout man's history to come. He asks questions that every human finds himself asking at some point. He focuses on ethics and theology and the human soul, and much more.

His writing style is relaxing and candid. The book is broken up into numerous seemingly disjointed sections and can be read for 10 minutes or a couple hours at a time. Montaigne writes in a friendly tone but also covers plenty of serious subjects. This book is unique in providing what life was like for one man who lived over four centuries ago.

This is not a review of Montaigne or Screech. It is a review of the publisher. This Penguin paperback is printed on text so tiny that even very young eyes need a magnifier to read it. This is not a pleasant way to read. Also, the binding breaks so easily on this thick paperback. Better to buy in multiple volumes or in hardback editions.