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Michel de Montaigne

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Michel de Montaigne


Born
in Guyenne, France
June 13, 1532

Died
September 13, 1592

Genre

Influences


Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (1532-1592) was one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance. Montaigne is known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. He became famous for his effortless ability to merge serious intellectual speculation with casual anecdotes and autobiography—and his massive volume Essais (translated literally as "Attempts") contains, to this day, some of the most widely influential essays ever written. Montaigne had a direct influence on writers the world over, from William Shakespeare to René Descartes, from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Stephan Zweig, from Friedrich Nietzsche to Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He was a conservative and earnest Catholic but, as a result of his anti-dogmatic cast of mind, he is consi ...more

Average rating: 4.11 · 33,316 ratings · 2,187 reviews · 1,626 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Complete Essays

4.23 avg rating — 20,500 ratings — published 1580 — 1127 editions
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The Complete Works: Essays,...

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4.46 avg rating — 1,023 ratings — published 1592 — 65 editions
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On Friendship

3.68 avg rating — 1,228 ratings — published 1580 — 39 editions
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Essais

4.05 avg rating — 1,063 ratings — published 1580 — 440 editions
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How We Weep and Laugh at th...

3.50 avg rating — 1,070 ratings — published 1592 — 7 editions
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On Solitude

3.62 avg rating — 1,031 ratings — published 1580 — 14 editions
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Сонгомол эсээнүүд

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4.31 avg rating — 539 ratings — published 2005 — 4 editions
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The Essays of Montaigne - V...

4.26 avg rating — 321 ratings — published 1580 — 417 editions
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Montaigne, Essais (I,31 et ...

2.83 avg rating — 466 ratings — published 1998 — 16 editions
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Essais, tome 3

4.12 avg rating — 273 ratings — published 1572 — 320 editions
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More books by Michel de Montaigne…
Essais The Essays of Montaigne - V... Essais, tome 3
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Quotes by Michel de Montaigne  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness. ”
Michel de Montaigne

“On the highest throne in the world, we still sit only on our own bottom.”
Michel de Montaigne, The Complete Essays

Polls

January 2024 Old School Classics

Confessions by Augustine of Hippo, January 1, 378, 341 pp
 
  55 votes, 23.3%

 
  42 votes, 17.8%

 
  40 votes, 16.9%

New Grub Street by George Gissing, 1891, 560 pp
 
  34 votes, 14.4%

 
  30 votes, 12.7%

 
  24 votes, 10.2%

Red Pottage by Mary Cholmondeley, 1899, 378 pp
 
  11 votes, 4.7%

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