Montaigne: Self, Doubt and Difference · Episode 1 of 3
Samuel Woodall and Jack Thomson begin their three-part Montaigne series with his classical education, friendship and public life, his retreat to the tower library, and the changing self at the centre of the Essays. Is his candour straightforward honesty, literary performance, or an invitation to exercise our own judgement?
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Read alongside us
Michel de Montaigne, Essays: To the Reader; Of Idleness (I.8); Of Presumption (II.17).
Numbering follows Screech and Frame; online editions sometimes differ. Use the essay titles to locate the readings.
Read the complete Cotton-Hazlitt translation free at Project Gutenberg.
Audio chapters
Times refer to the Buzzsprout audio recording. Open the audio chapter navigation.
- 0:00 Welcome And Setting The Scene
- 0:46 Why Montaigne Makes Himself The Topic
- 2:00 A Latin Childhood And Humanist Education
- 6:10 Retreat To The Tower And Essay Writing
- 9:05 Travel, Pain, And Public Responsibility
- 10:42 Writing The Self In A Dangerous Politics
- 14:55 Revision, Candour, And Partial Truth
- 16:38 Preparing For Death And Part Two
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