Finding his mind so filled with “chimeras and fantastic monsters, one after another, without order or purpose,” he [Montaigne] decided to write them down, not directly to overcome them, but to inspect their strangeness at his leisure. So he picked up his pen; the first of the Essays was born.

— Sarah Bakewell How to Live, or, A Life of Montaigne in one Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer (2010)

More quotes by Sarah Bakewell

How to Live, or, A Life of Montaigne in one Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer (2010)

How to Live, or, A Life of Montaigne in one Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer (2010)

How to Live, or, A Life of Montaigne in one Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer (2010)

How to Live, or, A Life of Montaigne in one Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer (2010)

How to Live, or, A Life of Montaigne in one Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer (2010)

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