I find this essay on liars to be one of Montaigne’s least convincing. To begin, I find it a bit hard to believe that someone who served for years as a diplomat, government official and well-known political moderate wouldn’t have become skilled at shading the truth. While Montaigne did have a reputation for speaking bluntly…

One of Michel de Montaigne’s shortest essays, On Idleness includes some of his most striking statements. Such as: … so too with our minds. If we do not keep them busy with some particular subject which can serve as a bridle to reign them in, they charge ungovernably about, ranging to and fro over the…

I often pull out quotes from Montaigne essays to illustrate the ideas I take away from them. But in the case of this essay, one quote would suffice to explain the entire piece. It’s a beautifully structured piece of writing that builds to the line, which was added very near Montaigne’s death: If I can,…

No doubt this Montaigne essay could have fit easily onto the end of his previous piece — and it doesn’t seem to add an extra dimension to his thought that warfare requires certain rules to remain honorable and for the outcome to be accepted by all. Quaint as the topic may appear, it’s an endlessly-repeating…

I have written about Montaigne’s fifth essay — “Whether the governor of a besieged fortress should go out and parley” — several times, never with any joy or energy. It’s a piece about military strategy, so reading it now is much like coming across an NFL pre-game show years after the fact … is all…

Even though the earliest Montaigne essays seem like the overture to the symphony, you can start to see the real Montaigne peek out in certain phrases. It’s a common analysis of the essays that Montaigne started off his project and soon discovered that writing can be a terrifying journey. All kinds of feeling started to…