How To Read Montaigne

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Montaigne (1533-92) is commonly regarded as an early modern sceptic, standing at the threshold of a new secular way of thinking. He is also known for his groundbreaking exploration of the 'subject' or the 'self'. Terence Cave discusses these and other key aspects of the Essais not as philosophical themes but as features in the mapping of a mental landscape. Taking passages from many different chapters of the Essais, this book guides the reader through Montaigne's investigation of the 'subtle shades and stirrings' of the mind.

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'These [How to Read] books let you encounter thinkers eyeball to eyeball by analysing passages from their work' Terry Eagleton, "New Statesman"

Author Bio

Terence Cave is Emeritus Professor of French Literature at the University of Oxford, Emeritus Research Fellow of St John s College, Oxford, and a Fellow of the British Academy. He is the author of The Cornucopian Text: Problems of Writing in the French Renaissance and other studies in early modern French culture.