Michel de Montaigne

Michel Eyquem de Montaigne (February 28, 1533 – September 13, 1592) was an influential French Renaissance writer, generally considered to be the inventor of the personal essay. In his main work, the Essays, unprecedented in its candidness and personal flavor, he takes mankind and especially himself as the object of study. He was a skeptic and a humanist.

Related writers and influence

Among the thinkers exploring similar ideas, one can mention Erasmus, Thomas More, and Guillaume Budé, all working about 50 years before Montaigne.

Related Topics:
Erasmus - Thomas More - Guillaume Budé

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Montaigne's influence is easily seen in the essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Friedrich Nietzsche was moved to judge of Montaigne: "That such a man wrote has truly augmented the joy of living on this earth." (from "Schopenhauer as Educator")

Related Topics:
Ralph Waldo Emerson - Friedrich Nietzsche - Schopenhauer

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