Michel de Montaigne was one of the most influential figures of the Renaissance, singlehandedly responsible for popularising the essay as a literary form. This Penguin Classics edition of The Complete Essays is translated from the French and edited with an introduction and notes by M.A. Screech. In 1572 Montaigne retired to his estates in order to devote himself to leisure, reading and reflection. There he wrote his constantly expanding 'assays', inspired by the ideas he found in books contained in his library and from his own experience. He discusses subjects as diverse as war-horses and cannibals, poetry and politics, sex and religion, love and friendship, ecstasy and experience. But, above all, Montaigne studied himself as a way of drawing out his own inner nature and that of men and women in general. The Essays are among the most idiosyncratic and personal works in all literature and provide an engaging insight into a wise Renaissance mind, continuing to give pleasure and enlightenment to modern readers. With its extensive introduction and notes, M.A. Screech's edition of Montaigne is widely regarded as the most distinguished of recent times. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1586) studied law and spent a number of years working as a counsellor before devoting his life to reading, writing and reflection.

政治的・宗教的動乱の渦中に実務家として生きた経験と、若いときから親しんだ古典の豊富な知見をもとに執筆された「随想録」は、時代を超えた深い人間洞察で知られる。「自己の研究」にはじまり「知恵」「快楽」「徳・不徳」「宗教」「教育」「学問」「読書」「交遊」「風習」「政治」「歴史」「旅行」「恋愛・結婚・友愛」「老年・隠退」「病気」「死」など、どこを読んでも何かを教えられる好著。どこから読んでもよい格好の「モンテーニュ入門」