I’m reminded each time towards the end of the Montaigne’s first volume that some of his weakest entries are at the back of the book. This one is probably less interesting than it might have been in Montaigne’s day, partly because sanitation is so much better now — and cities smell significantly better because of it.

Paris was for a couple centuries one of the most disgusting cities on earth. It wasn’t until the 19th century that the city finally had the running water, sanitation and disease prevention necessary for a city of its size to become a cultural magnet — the Belle Epoque was just as much a story of Paris’ public works as it was its culture.

Which should remind us that the mundane aspects of managing the world remain as important today and if we want to give people around the world greater opportunity to learn, grow and build a future, we have to invest in the things that we now take for granted. AI could be beneficial to African nations, but more reliable water and public health systems are far more important.

That’s the best I can do for this pass through the essays. My only personal touch is that one of my strongest headache triggers used to be the perfume and cologne sections of department stores. It’s one of the side benefits of the decline of the retail culture that I rarely need to dodge those sections of stores anymore.