It was read by Pushkin, she constantly lay on the table of Leo Tolstoy. This book was the most popular in the XVI-XVII centuries. Its author - Michel Eyckem de Montaigne (d. 02.28.1533) - belonged to a new wave of French noblemen, descended from the merchant estate. The father of the future writer Pierre Eykem was in the royal service, my mother was from a wealthy Jewish family.
Dad was serious about teaching his son. He himself was a very educated man, and the spirit of antiquity was in the family. The teacher of little Michel took a man who did not know the French language at all, but versed in Latin.
Education and social status
Michel Montaigne had every opportunity to make a brilliant career as a government official. He studied at the best educational institutions in the country: after college in Bordeaux, he brilliantly graduated from the University of Toulouse. The newly baked 21-year-old lawyer took up the position of royal adviser at first in Perigue, but soon transferred to Bordeaux's hometown. In the service he was appreciated, he had friends there. An erudite official was twice elected to the post of adviser.
In 1565, Michelle favorably married the French noblewoman Francoise de Chansan. And three years later, after the death of his father, Montaigne came into possession of the family estate, giving up his career in court. Subsequently, Michel Montaigne led the life of a local nobleman, devoting himself to literary work.
It was in the family nest that Montaigne's experience poured out on paper.
In essence, these were idle records of an educated progressive aristocrat. He created them at leisure for fifteen years, especially not bothering himself with labor. During this time, some views of the philosopher changed, so the thoughtful reader will find in the âExperimentsâ several ideas diametrically opposed.
The French philosopher-humanist wrote to the table, not even thinking about publishing.
The formal structure of the work
As a free collection of his observations, thoughts, and essays, Michel Montaigne created "Experiments." A brief summary of this work in an extremely concise form can be expressed with the phrase: the original view of the writer of the Renaissance on life and the prospects for the development of contemporary society.
The collection itself consists of three volumes. The essays contained in each of them are collected in chronological order of their writing.
The first volume of "Experiments" by Michel Montaigne is narrated in the form of an essay:
- about how the same thing is achieved in different ways;
- that our intentions are a judge of our actions;
- about idleness;
- about sorrow;
- About liars and about many other things.
The second volume was written in the same form by M. Montaigne. âExperimentsâ were filled with the authorâs retelling of ancient and Christian authors about different areas of human being:
- about his inconstancy;
- on cases deferred until tomorrow;
- about parental love,
- about conscience;
- about books, etc.
The third volume tells readers:
- about flattering and useful;
- the art of talking;
- about communication;
- about human will;
- about the hustle and bustle of dozens of other human activities.
The historical conditions for the emergence of Montenev humanism
Freethinking in medieval France during the time of Charles IX was deadly. There was a bloody (essentially civilian) war between Catholics and Protestants. The Catholic Church, motivated by the Council of Trent of 1545-1563, fought the Reformation in the homeland of Michel Montaigne, militarized the Franciscan order and granted him emergency powers.
The terrible times of the Inquisition returned to the socio-political life of France. The Catholic Church has reanimated power methods to suppress growing Protestantism.
Orders of the Franciscans and Jesuits controlled society, fighting the dissent. Monk warriors were allowed by the pope, at the behest of the ruler, to commit even mortal sins against Gentiles. Punitive state actions did not lag behind the Jesuits in cruelty. In his hometown of Bordeaux, a 15-year-old guy, a future philosopher, witnessed a collective execution by Marshal Montmorency, authorized to pacify citizens who rebelled against raising the salt tax. 120 people were hanged, and the city parliament was liquidated.
In times of general fear, a collection of essays was written, drawing on the experience of Montaigne, a citizen writer and a humanist. At that time, blood was constantly pouring in France ... The philosopher, like the rest of society, accepted with shudder the massacre provoked by Marie de Medici in Paris during the so-called Bartholomewâs night, when up to 30 thousand French Protestants were slaughtered.
Monya himself did not fundamentally adjoin any of the opposing religious and political forces, wisely seeking a civil peace. Among his friends were Catholics and Protestants. It is not surprising that Montaigneâs human and philosophical experience was ideologically opposed to arbitrariness, dogmatism and reactionaryness reigning in the country.
In the last period of his life, the philosopher supported the rise to power of Emperor Henry IV, who was able to end the religious wars and put an end to feudal fragmentation.
Civil and human position
He opposed the principle of âphilosophizing is to doubtâ dogmatic theology, a scholastic, abstracted from life, reasonably criticized Catholics for religious dishonesty, non-observance of Christian commandments.
At the same time, we note that, in essence, the philosopher was not a tribune, a social leader. Although for his contemporaries, the conclusions drawn by Michel de Montaigne seem to be a revelation.
The âexperiencesâ, written by the hand of a citizen philosopher, contain regret that âthe heavenly and divine doctrineâ resides in the âhands of perverseâ. He realized this, "having passed the stream of thoughts through himself." (One should understand the features of his personality.)
Montaigne as a person was characterized by irritability of the mind, so he preferred not to enter into debates and worked exclusively in solitude. He read his works to a narrow circle of friends and was quite satisfied with this. His critical mind did not accept ranks and authorities. Michelleâs favorite phrase was: âThere are no heroes for the valet!â He correlated everything that happened with his personality. âMy metaphysics is the study of myself,â said the philosopher.
The writer's office was on the third floor of the Montaigne castle tower, and its windows were lit until late ...
The doctrine of wisdom in everyday life
Superpopular in Europe XVI-XVII centuries was the book "Experiments" Montaigne. The scientistâs sensitive mind has captured the new social realities of the formation of bourgeois society. Under totalitarianism, the philosopher called to life the ancient ideas of individualism, tolerance, and an ironic attitude to reality.
Montaigne declares that for a person absolute evil is not a certain eclectic devil invented by the Inquisition. Evil, from his point of view, is belief without a smile, a fanatical belief in the only truth that is not in doubt. It is she who serves as the basis for the unfolding spiral of violence in society.
The philosopher sought and found (which we will discuss below) the principles of building an ideal society. He regarded the freedom of the individual as the highest value.
According to the philosopher, for a happy life of a person, pleasure and concern for one's own health should be balanced in it. Indeed, judging by the logic of ancient sages, most pleasures attract and attract people in order to destroy him.
In his book, de Montaigne (âExperimentsâ) reproduces the ancient doctrine forgotten in medieval Europe about the traps of consciousness to which a person is exposed.
In particular, very few people have been given the opportunity to realize the real natural beauty hidden behind external simplicity. Itâs not human nature to strain oneâs mind in order to catch the âquiet radiance of beauty."
Own way of knowing
As an alternative book to the ideas of ideology, subsequently condemned by its own author, the Catholic Church, Michel Montaigne wrote Experiments.
The summary of this collection of essays can be expressed in the ideas of bourgeois individualism. The three-volume book is a brilliant thoughts of an educated aristocrat, preceding the Renaissance, that are not connected by a common plot. This is the work of a deeply erudite person. In total, the collection of essays contains more than 3,000 citations of medieval and ancient authors. More often than others, the philosopher quoted Virgil, Plato, Horace, Epicurus, Seneca, Plutarch. Among Christian sources he mentions thoughts from the Gospel, the Old Testament, and the utterances of the Apostle Paul.
At the junction of the ideas of stoicism, epicureanism, critical skepticism, Michel Montaigne created âExperimentsâ.
A summary of the main work of the life of the great Frenchman was not in vain studied for two centuries in European educational institutions of the Renaissance. Indeed, this essay in fact represents the philosophical views of a scientist who deeply comprehends the prospects of social development.
His dictum that âthe souls of shoemakers and emperors are tailored to the same patternâ, became two centuries later, in 1792, the epigraph of the newspaper - the printed organ of the Great French Revolution.
Sources of Philosopher Ideas
Obviously, during the time of the counter-reformation, the philosophical experience of Montaigne, disputing the position of the Catholic Church, could only be secretly poured out on paper.
His views were contrary to official, dogmatic and pro-Catholic. He had powerful theoretical sources from which he drew ideas for his views on the future social structure.
The scientist, perfectly knowing Latin and Ancient Greek languages, read in the originals and knew perfectly the works of leading ancient philosophers. Also, the philosopher was considered one of the most knowledgeable interpreters of the Bible in France.
The study of the vices of civilization on the principle of antithesis
In the XVI century, in another earthly hemisphere, the Europeans finally conquered the New World. Just at the time when M. Montaigne wrote "Experiments." The summary of this aggressive and unfriendly action was reflected in the philosopherâs main book.
The scientist knew in sufficient detail about the course of the campaigns in America. While in the service of the king, he attended a meeting organized by missionaries of the monarch with noble Indian leaders. And he himself had a servant who devoted ten years of his life to service in the New World.
The real look of the rich nouveau riche - the conquerors of America - turned out to be unattractive in reality. He was boldly shown in a civilian manner by M. Montaigne (âExperimentsâ). The description of the essence of this first geopolitical interaction of the peoples of the two continents came down to a banal enslavement. Instead of worthily bringing the teachings of Christ to the world, Europeans followed the path of mortal sins.
The indigenous population of the New World was in the biblical role of the lamb in the spell. The scientist emphasized that a people living without wealth and poverty, without inheritance and division of property, without slavery, without wine, bread, metal, possessed spiritual qualities of a higher order than Europeans. In the vocabulary of the natives there did not even exist words denoting lies, deceit, forgiveness, betrayal, envy, pretense.
The philosopher emphasizes the harmony of interpersonal relations of the indigenous population of the New World. The civil foundations of their communities are not spoiled by civilization. They are equal in age to brothers, younger ones are children, older ones are fathers. Seniors, dying, transfer their property to the community.
Humanist on the moral superiority of early civilizations
Pointing out that in the crafts and urban planning the New World tribes were not inferior to the Europeans (Mayan and Aztec architecture), the scientist emphasized their moral superiority.
By the criteria of decency, honesty, generosity, straightforwardness, the savages were much higher than their conquerors. And this is precisely what destroyed them: they betrayed themselves, sold them. Millions of natives were killed, the whole way of their civilization was "turned upside down."
The scientist asks the question: âWas there a different, civilizational version of development? Why not Europeans persuade these virgin souls with Christian values ââto high ideals? If so, humanity would be the best. "
Faith and God in the understanding of the philosopher
Showing the bankruptcy of the ideology of counter-reformation, the scientist at the same time brings to the minds of readers an unusually clean and clear understanding of the phenomenon of God and faith.
He sees God as an abstract, timeless, omnipresent creature, not connected either with human logic or with the course of everyday life. Thus, the category of God is linked with existing nature, with the root cause of all things Michel Montaigne (âExperiencesâ).
According to the scientist, the content of this concept is given to a person only through the transcendental path through faith.
Such a perception of God is associated with such profound changes in personality that, in fact, a person walking along the path of faith goes through a whole evolution. And at the end of this path, gifts are, in fact, already received by another being.
To know God through deep faith means to enter into direct communication with him directly. And this, in turn, serves as a protection for a sincere believer from shaking âhuman accidentsâ (violence by the authorities, the will of political parties, addiction to change, sudden change of mind).
However, Montaigne is skeptical of the idea of ââthe immortality of the soul.
The development of the provisions of stoicism and epicureanism
Michel Montaigne contrasted religious dogmatism with the cultural ancient traditions of epicureanism and stoicism. Like Epicurus, the French philosopher called ethics (the science of morality) the most important for the harmonization of society and the "medicine for the soul" of each person. It is ethics, in his opinion, that can become a bridle to the harmful passions of man. The book "Experiments" pays tribute to the stoic views on the superiority of pure reason over the changing feelings of man.
Michel Montaigne, comprehending the main ethical values, puts virtue above any human qualities, including passive kindness. Indeed, virtue is the result of rational purposeful willful efforts and leads a person to overcome his passions. Thanks to virtue, in the opinion of Montaigne, a person can change his fate, to avoid the fatal necessities that threaten him.
The scientist formulated many postulates of modern European culture. Moreover, his thinking is extremely figurative. For example, showing the perversity of the artificial inequality of people in feudal society, the philosopher speaks of âmeaninglessness to stilt, because you still have to go with your own feet. In addition, a person, even on the most elevated throne, will sit on his own seat. â
Conclusion
Surprisingly, contemporary readers organically perceive the author's style, in which Montaigne wrote "Experiments." Their reviews emphasize the closeness of the style of the medieval author to modern bloggers: the author wrote at his leisure in order to fill his free time with this activity. He did not go into the details of the design, structuring of his work.
Montaigne simply wrote one essay after another on the topic of the day, as well as under the influence of events, books, and personalities.
It is noteworthy that this book is imbued with the personality of the author. He, as you know, initially addressed his friends in memory of himself. And it succeeded! The writing was friendly. In it, the reader often finds practical advice for himself. Such as the elder brother would give him.