Montaigne

In Our Time: Culture

BBC

History

4.6 • 978 Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2013

⏱️ 43 minutes

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Essays of Michel de Montaigne. Born near Bordeaux in 1533, Montaigne retired from a life of public service aged 38 and began to write. He called these short works 'essais', or 'attempts'; they deal with an eclectic range of subjects, from the dauntingly weighty to the apparently trivial. Although he never considered himself a philosopher, he is often now seen as one of the most outstanding Sceptical thinkers of early modern Europe. His approachable style, intelligence and subtle thought have made him one of the most widely admired writers of the Renaissance.

With:

David Wootton Anniversary Professor of History at York University

Terence Cave Emeritus Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford

Felicity Green Chancellor's Fellow in History at the University of Edinburgh.

Producer: Thomas Morris.

Transcript

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0:44.0	Hello, Michel de Monte's essay is first published in 1580 begin rather unconventionally.
0:50.0	In a brief note to his readers, Montane advises them not to bother continuing any further.
0:54.1	He explains,
0:55.0	Reader, I myself am on the matter of my book.
0:57.8	There's no reason you should employ your leisure about so frivolous and vain a subject. Monte's essays are among the most unusual, fascinating and influential works of the Renaissance.
1:07.0	They deal with an apparently limitless variety of subjects from cannibalism to pedantry, solitude to the human emotions.
1:14.0	There's even an essay about thumbs.
1:15.9	Although he never saw himself as a philosopher, Montana's going to be seen as one of the
1:19.9	most important thinkers of the 16th century. His skeptical approach to the world
	...

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