Book the First
We Reach the Same End by Discrepant Means:
-
Chapter talks about war and history (subject to
noblemen) → the unpredictable reactions of men and the chaos of war
-
He mentions the effect of showing
“submissiveness” in order to appear pitiful and pathetic when offending someone
to the point of vengeance; BUT so did bravery and courageousness [he cited
Conrad III]
-
Examples listed included:
-
Edward, Prince of Wales: showed mercy on the
people of a town he took by force due only to the three French noblemen who
bravely stood before him in defiance (impressed by their courage)
-
Scanderbeg, Prince of Epirus: pardoned a soldier
he was going to kill because the soldier showed submissiveness
-
His reaction to the cited work of Conrad III
showed him susceptible to both means (bravery and submissiveness) stating his
weakness of clemency and mercy → compassion over respect
-
pity an effect of “softness and gentleness” thus
women, children, and common people (weaker ones) are more susceptible to pity
On Sadness:
-
Shows Montaigne’s concern with ecstasies
produced by strong emotions and his impatience with sadness which sought to ape
the abstracted, pensive depths of melancholy genius
-
Montaigne is free of “sadness,” neither liking
it nor thinking well of it even though the world honors it (virtue, wisdom, and
conscience all abide through it); he believes sadness to be wicked (harmful and
mad quality)
-
Psammenitus, King of Egypt showed no emotions
when he saw his daughter walk in front of him as a servant → showed grief only
when his friend was brought amongst the captives
-
“Only the last of these misfortunes can be
expressed by tears, the first two are way beyond any means of expression” (why
he showed grief to a friend, but not to his children)
-
Force of sadness petrifies the soul, impending
freedom of action
Our emotions get carried away beyond us:
-
Many examples rooted in war; man’s struggles
about the thought of his body after death; Montaigne insists that a human being
only exists when body and soul are conjoined
-
“We are
never ‘at home’: we are always outside ourselves” → fear, hope, and desire drives
us towards the future; they hold us captive of thoughts about the future
-
whoever knows himself never considers external
things to be his (he loves and cultivates himself, rejecting any concerns about
the future)
-
people owe subordination and obedience to kings,
but people owe esteem and affection only to their virtue
How the soul discharges its emotions against false objects
when lacking real ones:
-
“Soul” here includes all aspects of the human
personality not strictly corporeal (relating to one’s body); Montaigne is
concerned with irrational bursts of choler (anger or irascibility) which are
vented in wrath directed against inanimate or guiltless objects and sweep over
great generals
-
Our mind, spirit → prone to be irrational as
well as refractory to right rule
-
Putting
something to blame when tortured with physical illness helps ease the pain
-
The soul is similar → as it loses itself in
itself when shaken and disturbed unless giving something else to keep it at bay
-
Animals carried away by anger → they attack the
thing that has wounded them or take vengeance by giving themselves pain
Whether the governor of a besieged fortress should go out
and parley:
-
Arose from Montaigne’s reflections on his
reading of Renaissance French and Italian historians in the light of his own
experience of war
-
one of the first he wrote in the beginning of
his enterprise →
-
appear to have been intended mainly as a
gentleman’s thoughts on matters military and political
-
King of Macedonia (war against Perseus), Roman
legate Lucius Marcius spread hints of agreements which bluffed the king into
agreeing in a truce for a couple of days
-
“Trickery or valour: what does it matter between
enemies”
-
Parley → a conference between opposing sides of
a dispute, agreeing for a term
The hour of parleying is dangerous:
-
Montaigne wrote this when the Siege of Mussidan
(1569) was fresh in his mind
-
→ Mussidan less than twenty miles from Montaigne
-
always hazardous decision to trust good pleasure
of a victorious army to keep the promises made to a surrendered town
-
surrendered through generous and favourable
terms, allow free entry to heated soldiery
-
Cleomenes believed → no matter the infliction
caused to the enemy during a war, the action is always above the law
-
Alexander the Great → “Certainly not. I am not
the man to thieve a victory and then follow it up!”
That our deeds are judged by the intention:
-
End of the chapter was written just before
Montaigne died → routine thoughts about motive into a personal declaration
-
Montaigne intended his death to be morally at
one with his life
-
“Death settles all obligations”
-
King Henry VII of England made an agreement with Don Felipe → Don
Felipe is to hand over King Henry’s enemy in return of King Henry’s promise to
not take the Duke’s life (his enemy)
-
King Henry VII still ordered his son to kill the
Duke as he lay dying
-
It is “valueless” to fix a date for a vengence
without cost or feeling → the more burdensome the payment the more just the
atonement
On idleness:
-
Started to tame melancholic delusions induced by
Montaigne’s withdrawal to his estate’s when his thoughts galloped away
-
Rich and Fertile lands → seen to abound exist in
large quantities of useless weeds
-
In order to make them work, one must subdue them
and keep them busy with seeds
-
If unable to keep them busy with work they
charge ungovernably about
-
A soul without a definite aim gets lost → if you
are everywhere you are nowhere
On liars:
-
A liar had better have good memory → thus
Montaigne’s concern with memory before turning to lying
-
An immoral deed loathed particularly by
gentlemen and even Montaigne would discourage diplomatists
-
His world → a “man without memory” is a stupid
man; Montaigne complains about his “defective” memory, accusing himself of
being stupid
-
Experience shows the contradictory:
-
→ an outstanding memory is often associated with
weak judgement
-
He argues that a poor memory is evil that has
enabled him to have ambition
-
Bad memory is intolerable defect for anyone
concerned in worldly affairs
-
Lying is an accursed vice → only our words that
bind us together and make us human
-
It is more worthy of the stake than other
crimes; a lie that only has one face would equal better terms
On a ready or hesitant delivery:
-
He considers ‘readiness’ to speak in public,
both in speaking easily and ready with a prepared text; senses are contained in
the Latin word promptus which lies behind his French term for ‘ready’ speech
-
Some have “prompt” facilities → easily able to
get their words out and are always ready everywhere
-
Others are hesitant → never speak without
thinking and working it out beforehand
-
It is a man’s wit to act readily and quickly →
the property of the judgement is to be slow and poised
-
He knows that the kind of character gets nowhere
unless allowed to live free and happily
-
A soul worrying about doing well will be held at
bay
-
→ This same character is not driven and spurred
on by strong passions
On Prognostications:
-
Christianity has banished most forms of
prognostication (telling a prophecy); those that remain are the sport of subtle
credulous minds who could find hidden meanings anywhere
-
Oracles had begun to lose their credit before
Jesus Christ → Cicero tries to find the cause of their decline\
-
Other prognostications were derived from
dissection of sacrificial animals
-
Man = happy and master of himself
-
Those who understand the language of the birds
and the livers of animals better than their own should just listen rather than
pay attention
On Constancy:
-
Constancy is a Stoic virtue; Stoics have to
confess that a Safe can be startled; Montaigne considers the limits of Stoic
doctrine → basing himself partly on own experience in the Wars of Religion
-
Resolution and constancy = don’t lay down as law
that we protect ourselves, as long as it lies in our power
-
Contradiction → all honourable means of
protecting oneself are not licit (lawful), but laudable (deserving praise)
-
Warlike nations, many, included flight as main
tactical resources → turning backs equaled more risk to the enemy than when
they showed their face
Ceremonial at the meeting of kings;
-
Montaigne considers his essays as ‘rhapsodie’ (a
confused medley of disparate, different, pieces strung together)
-
Queen Margaret of Navarre asserts that it is
impolite for a nobleman to leave his house
-
it is more civil and more respectful to wait
-
Normal rule governing all interviews → behove
the lesser to arrive (behove: a duty or
responsibility for someone to do something)
That the taste of good and evil things depends in large part
on the opinion we have of them:
-
Old Greek saying by Epictetus → men tormented not by things themselves but
by what they think about them
-
Proven true would comfort our wretched human
condition; ills entered through our judgement would allow us to either despise
them or deflect them towards good
-
Things we call evil or torment are only
evil/torment if our mental apprehension endows them with those qualities
-
Our main enemies → death, poverty, and pain
-
Death, “dreadest of all dreadful things,” is the
only heaven from life’s torments
-
the natural sovereign goods, only guarantor of
freedom, the common and ready cure of all ills
-
Not able to find our principal happiness is the
cause of our impatience in suffering; the body knows only differences in
degree:
-
Otherwise it is one uniform disposition
On punishing cowardice:
-
Reasonable that we should make great difference
between defects due to own weakness and those due to wickedness
-
The latter, wickedness, deliberately brace
ourselves against reason’s rules, imprinted on us by Nature
-
The former, we can call Nature herself as a
defence-witness for leaving us weak and imperfect
-
Thus it is believed that we can only be punished
for deeds done against our conscience
-
Cowardice is to be punished via disgrace and
ignominy (public shame)
The doings of certain ambassadors:
-
War and diplomacy (noble subjects) dominate the
chapter; topics such as how to read history are introduced
-
In order to learn something from occasional
travels one must always bring those with whom they are talking back to the
subjects they know best
-
The reverse usually happens → everyone chooses
to orate about another’s job rather than their own
-
Reading
history:
-
Montaigne turns his attention to the authors:
-
Persons with writing as their only profession →
learn points of style and language
-
Doctors → believe them when they are talking
about the climate, health and humours of princes, wounds and illnesses
On fear:
-
Montaigne discusses fear, in the light of his
own experience in war, partly from exempla; he sees it as often leading to bad,
ecstatic behaviour: classes as a case of rapture or of madness
-
Fear is a very odd emotion; it is the emotion
that readily ravishes our judgement from its proper seat →
-
men can be driven out of their minds by
fear
-
fear engenders even the most respectable men
-
it sometimes conjures up visions of
great-grandsires rising out of graves, of monsters and werewolves
That we should not be deemed happy till after our death:
-
A preoccupation with death expected from
melancholics: Montaigne’s case was heightened by the deaths of La Boetie and
his own father, as well as the Wars of Religion
-
‘Death’ considered in the act of dying not as
the state of the soul in the after-life
-
It is concern of philosophy not religion
-
Montaigne looked to see how its end was borne
when judging another’s life; his main concern for his own → be borne well, in a
quiet and muted manner
To philosophize is to learn how to die:
-
Cicero says that philosophy is nothing but
getting ready to die; study and contemplation draws out the souls of the people
-
Our ultimate aim, even in virtue, is pleasure →
it means the most delight and an exceeding happiness, the best companion to
virtue
-
Pleasurable for being lively, taut, robust and
virile (having strength)
-
There is happiness and blessedness radiating
from virtue → virtue’s main gift’s is to contempt for death
-
furnishing life with easy tranquility, pure and
friendly taste
-
Nature lends us a hand and gives us courage; if
death is violent and short → no time to be afraid
-
It robs us of our sense of loss and decline
On the power of the imagination:
-
The credit given to miracles, visions,
enchantments and other extraordinary events derives from the power of the
imagination acting on the souls of the common people
-
Common people’s capacity to believe has been
ravished → they think they see what they cannot see
-
Amasis, King of Egypt married Laodice (
beautiful Grecian maiden); incapable of lying to her, he believed her to be a
witch thus threatening to kill her
-
Even beasts are subjected to the power of the
imagination; dogs grieve when they lose their masters, horses struggle and
whinny, and dogs yap and twitch in their dreams
-
Can be attributed to the work of mind to body,
communicating with one another
On habit: and on never easily changing a traditional law:
-
Habit → a violent and treacherous schoolteacher;
it is authoritative within us and plants itself within
-
It infringes rules of Nature, stunning our
senses and combines and stabilizes effects on our senses
-
Montaigne believes in in teaching children to
detest vices, teach them the natural ugliness of vices in order to flee the
deeds in their mind
-
Discovering the effects of habit through
impressions imprinted on the soul, where there is less resistance
-
There is nothing that habit cannot do when
concerned with judgements and beliefs
-
Judgement’s power is dulled once grown
accustomed to something
-
Plato’s remedy to rid of unnatural loves of his
age →
-
public opinion condemn them, poets and everyone
else give bad accounts of them
Same design: differing outcomes:
-
Stresses uncertainty in all human affairs
-
Show’s his concern with role of Fortune in all
human arts
-
Fortune reveals clearly the part it plays in all
works as seen through grace and beauty found within
-
Without artist’s intention or knowledge
-
A competent reader can find in another one’s
writing, other than those the author knows he put, richer senses and meanings
-
Fortune plays a major part in military exploits
→ an element of chance and good luck mingled in
-
the more lively and free → the more frailty
within → more distrust
-
state of indecision and perplexity brought out
by inability to see most advantageous
-
History tells people faced with fears to chose
vengeance and punishments to hasten the conspiracies
-
teaching others to be watchful and distrustful
of others will lead to their downfall and shame
-
Nothing noble is achieved without risk
On schoolmasters’ learning:
-
Conflict between common man and men of
outstanding learning (gentlemen)
-
A soul enriched with knowledge should not be
more alert and alive; the mind is swamped by too much studying
-
Similarly: plants that get too much water, lamps
with too much oil
-
The mind, if given too much knowledge, can lose
its “struggles to be free”
-
Evil rises from tackling science in a wrong
manner; being taught in the wrong manner results in neither the master nor the
pupil to be able
-
Learning is passed from hand to hand with only
one end in view
-
All we do is look after the opinions and
learnings of others
-
We rely so much on someone else that we destroy
our own learning (we need to rely more on ourselves rather than someone else
-
“Learning is a good medicine: but no medicine is
powerful enough to preserve itself from taint and corruption independently of
defects in the jar”
On educating children:
-
Two opposing concepts: Chrysippus, philosopher →
intermingled passages from other authors through entire books; Epicurus → left
three hundred tomes (book) behind without a single quotation from another
author in any of them
-
Education → greatest and most important known
human learning is the area of upbringing children and educating them
-
Educating children is like farming: the ploughing
is easy and so is planting → but as soon as what’s planted springs to life, it
is difficult to care for
-
In human beings it is easy “planting them,” but
as soon as they’re born we are tasked with diversifying them
-
It’s hard to force “a natural bent” on a child,
forcing a child to learn something they will never achieve on will only waste
away
-
Always guide children to the best and most
rewarding goals
-
The student has to understand to confess his
error as an act of justice and integrity
-
Stubbornness and rancour → vulgar qualities
-
Nothing better than making the student want to
study and love it
-
“otherwise you simply produce donkeys laden with
books”
That is madness to judge the true and the false from our own
capacities:
-
Simple mindedness is attributed to a belief in
anything and ignorance; Montaigne was taught that a belief is like an
impression stamped on the soul
-
→ a softer and less resisting soul = easier to
print anything on it
-
Silly arrogance in hating something just because
it is different; common vice among people that believe themselves to be above
others
On affectionate relationships:
-
Chapter is traditionally called ‘On friendship’
→ however, Renaissance French includes many affectionate relationships; several
terms needed in order to render different senses
-
friendship, loving-friendship, benevolence,
affection, affectionate relationships, and love
-
Montaigne talks about wanting to imitate his
friend paint, but is short on the talent to do so → instead he borrows a
‘painting’ from Etienne de La Boetie
-
He believes that La Boetie has written noble
works and he, himself, is indebted to La Boetie for the treatise as it was the
cause of their friendship
-
Children to fathers is more a mutual of respect,
not friendship due to their inequality (also might interfere with their natural
obligations)
-
Bond of ‘brothers’ is true and full of love, similar
to what he has with La Boetie as they made a brotherhood with their alliance
-
You cannot compare friendship with the passion
men feel with women (not in the same category)
-
flames of passion → more active, keen, and
sharp, but it is also a rash, fickle, fluctuating, and variable one
-
love between friends → general universal warmth,
temperate and smooth, a constant warmth with gentleness and evenness
On moderation:
-
The chapter continues on Montaigne’s reflections
on love and marriage, banter to seriousness
-
One can love virtue too much and behave with
excess
-
Montaigne saw a great nobleman harm the
reputation of his religion by showing himself to be too religious, beyond that
of his rank
-
Montaigne likes nature because it is temperate
and moderate
-
Marriage → religious and devout, pleasure is
serious; wise and dutiful
-
Chief end is procreation
-
No pleasure when excessive and intemperate
On the cannibals:
-
Cannibals mentioned lived on coasts of Brazil
-
Montaigne wants just topographers (people that
make detailed accounts on places they’ve been to) instead of people telling
stories on everything else
-
A man should only tell stories of things he is
knowledgeable about
-
He deems them not savages or barbarians → there
is nothing barbarous about someone that they are not accustomed to
-
Montaigne retells stories about “cannibals,”
about the conquest of the New World
Judgements on God’s ordinances must be embarked upon with
prudence:
-
Subject of deception is unknown → strangeness
gives them acceptance; they don’t live by the order of argument
-
No people are more sure of themselves than those
who tell stories
On fleeing from pleasures at the cost of one’s life:
-
Shows the parallelism of Christianity and
Stoicism
-
Montaigne believes that when more bad comes out
of good then it is time to die
-
To preserve the life from prejudice and anguish
-
Contempt for death to dissuade honors, riches,
and other fortunes
Fortune is often found in Reason’s train:
-
Fortune has many “faces” → Montaigne believes
that Fortune likes to play with people
-
Fortune rivals that of Christian miracles, and
dabbles in medicine (it does not give up even though doctors have given up)
Something lacking in our civil administrations:
-
“Polity” → civil administration; applies to both
running of a country and running of an estate
-
Mutual advertising does not bring slight
advantage to public dealings because of the amount of bargains seeking each
other
-
difference & not uniformity among men
-
love and honor others for being who they are
-
judge every man by himself instead of by
"common examples" (stereotypes)
-
virtue in this age is defective & simply
just talk
-
all things done for a proposed end, a second
cause
-
our judgment is sick and obeys our depraved
manners
-
fake ingenuity, work only to hurt/blemish others
-
*Cato was a Roman orator, fought against Julius
Caesar (48 BC); eventually committed suicide
Vocabulary: gewgaw- trinket,
showy but inexpensive, ornament
Chapter 37- That We Laugh &
Cry for the Same Thing
-
various desires/passions/emotions expressed
simultaneously
-
"...gay beneath a somber air."
-
"The heirs tears behind the mask are
smiles."
-
EX: Timolean murders a tyrant, he has restored
liberty, yet he laments because the tyrant was his brother
Chapter 38- Of Solitude
-
"we are not born for ourselves but for the
public"
-
Ambition gives a taste of solitude
-
some prefer to be alone & flee a place but
to be truly alone one must "take possession of his soul, he must sequester
and come again to himself."
-
EX: "our disease lie in minds, no escape
from itself" >> true solitude can be found anywhere
-
EX: A dog breaks from his chain but always drags
a portion with him. He never acquires absolute liberty because he looks upon
what he left behind
-
"wise man never loses anything id he have
himself"
-
happiness
shouldn't depend on people treasures, etc. we must save our hearts for a
solitude, a retreat to be happy with nothing when all is lost
-
"In solitude, be company for thyself."
-
we lived for others, the last remnant of life is
ours, "to wean ourselves from society
-
glory and repose cannot inhabit one place nor
ambition and solitude another
-
Pliny tells Ciero to write when he retires, for
ambition
-
do not care what others speak of you, worry
about what you say to yourself
-
"Retire yourself into yourself"
-
to need only oneself and please oneself >>
true & NATURAL philosophy, not ambition and glory
Chapter 39- A Consideration Upon
Cicero
-
Cicero & Young Pliny (two counsels of Rome)
> eloquent speech but not at all wise, depended on their ONE talent of
speech
-
ambitious men, didn't want time to forget them
-
"A carefully arranged dress is no manly
ornament"
-
* Montaigne hates "all air of
flattery," does not premeditate letters, always uses stream of cons.
Chapter 40- That the Relish For
Good & Evil Depends in Great Measure Upon the Opinion We Have of Them
-
we are tormented by our own opinion of things
and not the things themselves; we give things power (or else everyone would
suffer from the same fears)
-
EX: fear of death: when kings died, wives and
servants would throw themselves into the fire and burned with him joyfully,
they did NOT fear death
-
"They suffered so much the more, by how
much more they gave way to the suffering."
-
"grief is not in nature, but in
opinion."
-
"Everyone is the maker of his own
fortune."
-
EX: Conditions of Life ($$)
-
1. borrowed money relentlessly, felt good to pay
it back
-
2. have own money > more money = more fear
for the money > harder to keep than to get > deprived from enjoyment of
spending
-
3. living day to day, necessity
-
"The things are not so painful and
difficult of themselves, but our weakness and cowardice makes them so."
-
"No man continues ill long but by his own
fault."
Chapter 41- Not to Communicate a
Man's Honour
-
reputation and glory > universal follies
-
EX: Catulus Luctatius, in war, receives honor
for faking cowardice and fleeing from the enemy so his men could follow and
hide their own shame
Chapter 42- Of the Inequality
Among Us
-
abundance of differences between men
-
judge a man entirely, "measure him without
his stilts"
-
Yet the only difference between a king and a
peasant are his pants
-
all men succumb to disease, fear, troubles,
shame, etc
-
all men bleed a crimson color
-
"Nor do burning fevers quit you sooner if
you are stretched on a couch of rich tapestry and in a vest of purple dye, than
if you be in a course blanket."
-
"goods" are evil to the unjust and as
good to the just
-
"Servitude enchains few, but many enchain
themselves to servitude."
-
Chapter 43- Of Sumptuary Laws
-
"The way by which our laws attempt to
regulate idle and vain expenses in meat and clothes, seems to be quite contrary
to the end designed."
-
causes men to see riches as useless (material
goods)
-
no laws have true credit, unless issued by God
or that no one knows its origin
-
change is to be feared> disagree, change is
not always negative, change and advancement are positive things in this
constantly changing world
Chapter 44- Of Sleep
-
EX: Alexander the Great when assigned battle
with Darius slept profoundly
-
great men
when faced with great bouts & important affairs keep themselves so serene
& calm, as to never disturb their sleep
Chapter 45- Of the Battle of
Dreux
-
Dec. 19, 1562, Catholics under Duc de Guise
& Constable de Montmorenci defeat Protestants
-
Agesilaus VS Boeotians, Agesilaus allowed enemy
to pass & attacked from the rear, like a coward
Chapter 46- Of Names
-
variety of herbs shuffed together in a dish, whole
mass swallowed by one name
-
EX: royal families known only by last name &
no individually
-
finds it wrong to mutilate or change one's name
-
names are only but a sound, and three or fours
dashes with a pen
-
every nation has certain names, common names
Chapter 47- Of the Uncertainty of
Our Judgment
-
"Irritated necessity bites deepest."
-
EX: soldiers used to take all riches to battle
to protect it, but it only gave enemy a bigger incentive to attack
-
EX: Votellius injusred opposing soldiers
verbally, caused them to take action >> fought harder "when the
quarrel is his own”
-
events depend upon fortune, that will not submit
to human reason and prudence
Chapter 48- Of War Horses, or
Destriers
-
trained horses, war horses
-
EX: Mamalukes (horses) recognized enemy, picked
up weapons, etc.
-
EX: Alexander (Bucephalus) head shape of bull,
rode only by Alexander
-
EX: Caesar, had a horse with human feet, rode
only by Caesar
-
wars fought on foot are more furious, soldiers
depend on themselves
-
EX: better to depend on one's own strength, than
to worry about the effect of other factors
-
Multi-purpose horses: for battle, in extreme
cases used as meat, urine and blood as drink, for warmth, and as protection
Chapter 49- Of Ancient Customs
-
common vice to walk the beaten roads of our
ancestors
-
goes through a series of changed customs,
comparing them >> bathing only arms & legs to bathing at least 3-4
times a day > removal of hair > saluting with kisses > wiping with a
sponge > long hair with a partial shave > fruit after dinner
Chapter 50- Of Democritus &
Heraclitus
-
philosophers: the first found human condition
ridiculous and vain, laughed and jeered, the latter appeared sorrowful
-
**author finds human condition ridiculous and
laughable
-
"leave choice of arguments to fortune, and
take that she first presents to me."
-
governed by ignorance
Chapter 51- Of the Vanity of
Words
-
Aristo defined rhetoric as "a science to
persuade the people" > Socrates & Plato as an "art to flatter
and deceive"
-
"to make little things appear great"
-
EX: @Rome, when affairs were disastrous,
eloquent speech helped "for the stupidity ...of the common people"
Chapter 52- Of the Parsimony of
the Ancients
-
parsimony: extreme unwillingness to spend money
or use resources
-
EX: Attilius Regulus (general, had glories and
riches) claimed his trustee ran away with his farming tools and destroyed 7
acres of land (not much for a wealthy man) >> Senate ordered losses be
covered and family be put under public expense
-
EX: Elder Cato: walked everywhere, carried his
own belongings, never splurged on an expensive robe >>> disagree with
the idea that money should not be spent, it should be used wisely and
obstructively, not made into mounds where it becomes useless and harder to
spend
Chapter 53- Of a Saying of Caesar
-
we are never satisfied and "pant after
things to come"
-
"our appetite is irresolute and
fickle" (uncertain and changing)
-
*
"Tis the common vice of nature, that we at once repose most confidence and
receive the greatest apprehensions, from things unseen, concealed, and
unknown."
Chapter 54- Of Vain Subtleties
-
subtleties: distinction that is difficult to
make, but important
-
EX: Romans dress the same for feasts and
funerals
-
EX: Dame = women of GREAT quality, Demoiselles =
inferior gentlewoman, Dame = lowest and meanest women
Chapter 55- Of Smells
-
lack of smell > "She smells sweetest who
smells not at all."
-
perfume used to CONCEAL > "he who ever
smells well does NOT smell well."
-
simple and natural most pleasing, Montaigne has
GREAT sense of smell
-
incense and perfumes in churches meant to cheer
and purify souls believes Montaigne
Chapter 56- Of Prayers
-
Montaigne is Catholic, yet he is censured by
Church
-
ALL prayers have the same substance, Montaigne
only recites "Our Father"
-
humans recourse to God in all affairs, no matter
how trivial
-
soul and unique protector
-
we pray only by custom and lay in hypocrisy
-
souls must be clean when we pray or wickedness
doubled
-
"We ought not to mix God in our
actions"
-
we shouldn't try to interpret, human discourse not
eloquent enough
-
we invoke him in our unjust designs and vices
-
*"women not fit to treat of theological
affairs" > disagree, woman are just as capable as men in all aspects if
provided with the same studies, and resources
-
"We whisper our guilty prayers."
Chapter 57- Of Age
-
Younger Cato at 48 wished to end his life
(advance age at that time)
-
"natural" death is seldom, isn't
drowning or breaking your neck natural?
-
Souls are adults at age 20 > "If the
thorn does not prick at its birth, 'twill hardly ever prick at all."
-
great human actions preformed before 30,
everything goes down and under after
Book the Second
-
"natural instability of our manners and
opinions"
-
we follow
the "inclinations of our appetite"
-
"man has two souls" good & evil
-
we live by chance
-
shouldn't judge by just actions, but on the
soul, to discover by what the motion is guided
Chapter 2- Of Drunkenness
-
gross and brutish vice; corporeal and earthly;
overthrows understanding and renders the body stupid > vents inward secrets
-
1. drink without concern for taste
-
2. drink freely and frequently to refresh soul
-
*sees no need to drink, other than to quench
thirst
-
*age 18 to drink, 40 to get drunk
Chapter 3- A Custom of the Isle
of Cea
-
"... no one can deprive us of death"
-
voluntary death is finest
-
yet, need HIS license to depart
-
"Death to that degree so frightens some
men, that causing them to hate both life and light, they kill themselves,
miserably forgetting that this same fear is the fountain of their cares."
-
Piny & his three reasons for suicide: kidney
stones, stomachache, headache
Chapter 4- To-morrow's a New Day
-
vice opposite of curiosity is negligence
-
Montaigne doesn't pry into other people's
affairs
Chapter 5- Of Conscience
-
"It makes us betray, accuse, and fight
against ourselves..."
-
"Wickedness contrives torment against
self."
-
EX: boy kills sparrows because they wouldn't
stop accusing him of killing his father, town didn't know of the murdered until
he admitted it.
-
good conscience = greater confidence and
assurance
-
* "Pain will make even the innocent
lie."
-
men rather die than go under examination and
torture
Chapter 6- Use Makes Perfect
-
philosophers threw themselves at difficulties to
practice
-
EX: abandon riches and go into voluntary poverty;
sought manual labor
-
Death is the only thing that can't be practiced
-
BUT SLEEP! > "In life she presents to us
the eternal state she reserves for us after it."
-
one must get acquainted to death > gives
testimony by what he knows and has experienced
Chapter 7- Of Recompenses of
Honour
-
EX: Augustus Caesar gave gifts to men of merit,
but with honor he was sparing
-
better to fall short in giving it, than to honor
someone who is undeserving
-
custom to acknowledge excellent men
Chapter 8- Of the Affection of Fathers
to Their Children
-
*To Madame D'Estissac (widow, maternal
affection) ~kids indebted with her
-
parents love children more than kids will ever
love them
-
Montaigne does not see embryo as a child for its
lack of "motion of soul" and indistinguishable body
-
vice of fathers> not waste money on kids,
makes them into thieves
-
children should love their fathers for their
wisdom and kindness, not their assistance > condemns violence
-
hates the idea that kids don't call their father
just that, Montaigne fixed that in his own home
-
widows shouldn't control children's futures
>> disagree, no matter how incompetent woman may seem, children are still
even more helpless at a young age and cannot be trusted to make clear and
logical decisions
-
*2nd production: knowledge, what we leave
behind, legacy
Chapter 9- Of the Arms of the
Parthians
-
soldiers used to go to war without defensive
arms (critic of today's production)
-
EX: Alexander rarely wore armor
-
armor is more of a burden and hassle
Chapter 10- Of Books
-
his books are his own fancies, lays himself wide
open, wants people to look at his METHOD of writing (stream of cons.)
-
reads as a diversion and to please himself
-
gives up when he doesn't understand something
the first time, doesn't bother with books that don't interest him
-
goes on to compare his favorite authors
-
wants a man to begin with the main proposition
-
historians tell only important events, incidents
must be told from firsthand accounts or they lose validity
-
"I had rather be old brief time, than be old before old age."
Chapter 11- Of Cruelty
-
"Virtue is much strengthened by
combats."
-
"...when we judge of a particular action,
we are to consider the circumstances, and the whole man by whom it is
preformed..."
-
"Nor carry wrong further."
-
Montaigne cannot stand any form of cruelty, even
if it is for justice, he is compassionate; cannot see himself even kill an
animal
-
"That a man should kill a man, not being
angry, not in fear, only for the sake of the spectacle." >truly wrong
(speaking on gladiators)
-
nature game man an instinct to inhumanity >
Montaigne believes in reincarnation, says humans will turn to animals based on
their human actions, a sort of purgatory, where one is returned to human form
when purified
Chapter 12- Apology for Raimond Sebond
-
Some have a hate for Christianity
-
“there is no creature in the world exposed to so
many injuries as man” -Michel de Montaigne
-
The story of Plutarch (Greek Biographer)
-
Alludes to early Roman History of Mark Antony
and Augustus Caesar
-
Animal vs. Man comparisons
-
Roman and Greek culture correlates to
Montaigne’s present day life in France
-
“surpasses all human thought of what kind of
animal has nature even so much honoured the birth”
-
First law from God was ‘pure obedience’
-
Man susceptible to being regular or different.
-
Rarely an apology essay, Connotation meaning 2
or 3 [of Apology] where 2) a defense, or excuse in speech or writing or 3) A
dialogue by Plato, that mainly dealt with the Senate in defense for Socrates up
for death or not.
-
Plato and Socrates are mentioned in this essay
to make a comparison to Montaigne’s friend; a critical situation that friends
ensure their dignities and make a lengthy speech about so.
-
A connection of Ancient Greece's greatest thinkers
and how they shaped the world, especially the way Montaigne alludes to them
-
Value of Latin and the recognition to interpret
quotes
-
Montaigne comments about man’s thoughts on God
-
Refer back to Aristotle and his philosophical
teachings that Montaigne displays here
-
In this essay, Montaigne goes over an expansive
history lesson and lets the readers think about their faith and values
-
Questions God’s existence (Not sure if he is
truthful with his beliefs), but man was built upon his image and those whose
views determine paganism.
Chapter 13- Of Judging Of The Death Of Another
-
‘’judge of another’s assurance of death...the
most remarkable action of human life” suggests that everyone’s feelings drop to
a level of significant remorse or gratitude
-
Alludes to Roman deaths during Caesar’s time
-
Some Men killing themselves for some reason
-
Natural death or concurrent to other sources of
fatal death
Chapter 14- That Our Mind Hinders Itself
-
“ A Mind exactly balanced betwixt two equal
desires”
-
being proud with the mind and soul; the balance
between the soul can’t equal and the other is favored more by desired traits
Chapter 15- That Our Desires Are Augmented By Difficulty
-
“Desire and fruition equally afflict us”
-
Qualities of Women that Montaigne think women
need to use to stay who they are like temperance, modesty, chastity, etc.
-
Religion holds people together and pious beliefs
builds a stronger bond when Montaigne says “Tis an effect of the divine
Providence to suffer the holy Church to be afflicted, as we see it, with so
many storms and troubles, by this opposition to rouse pious souls, and to
awaken them from that drowsy lethargy wherein[...]” even when opposition of
trouble disdains it.
-
The question of civil government was meant for
another purpose even if external forces think of ways of “preserving” their
civil liberties.
-
Montaigne’s house or controlled structure of
thinking the same way as him since it makes to him and it isn’t conflicting.
-
Other houses broken by outside forces but
Montaigne’s house remains
Chapter 16- Of Glory
-
“The name and the thing” is explained explicitly
by Montaigne as two diverse matters incoherent of each other’s presence.
-
Relation to the name and the thing to God and
man
-
Glory over self sustained qualities that people
need in their lives to live on as happy citizens
-
Stories of glory by great historians and
philosophers
-
Virtue is a very vain and frivolous thing if it
derive its recommendation from glory
-
According to Montaigne, man needs to take risks
and stand out to be at the top of his league or career.
-
Glory is used to define someone who has done
something significant and received compensation of something of value
-
Glory is something of a name given but no virtue
in it
-
Something earned by doing a simple task or by
war where it’s easily earned through fighting and murder
Chapter 17- Of Presumption
-
Something of a pre judgement or prejudice when
Montaigne explains “we have taught the ladies to blush[...]” hence the name
presumption
-
People with fortune are presumed to have
everything but are mislead in someway.
-
Respect for that person for having the
presumptuous characteristic is treated differently
-
Montaigne comments on he’s been “ignorant”
during his time of writing this essay, thinking that someone who read his essay
will judge him by his written work.
-
The authors work can be ‘disgusted’ his work
such as Montaigne who says so himself in this essay by simply loving other’s
works that aren’t his.
Chapter 18- Of Giving the Lie
-
States that the desire to learn about one man’s
life lies in the many accomplishments that he has fulfilled; ordinary men will
be given no attention
-
Only writes of himself for the entertainment of
friends but admits to changing his own image for his benefit
-
Those who think of themselves only do not have
the capacity to go deep and discover past the superficial
-
Truth is what we convince others to
believe; not seen as a vice; Lying is a
natural defect that is necessary when trying to evade accusations of cowardice
and weakness
-
Our lies interpret our souls and make up the
connections we hold with others; men seem to enjoy playing with their words as
it is the only way of communication
Chapter 19- Of Liberty of Conscience
-
Good intentions and true passion can often lead
to the absence of reason
-
Emperor Julian depicted as a great man, brave,
honorable, hardworking, and good
-
His great defect was his religion which he tried
to encourage in times of civil dissension; only achieved inflaming them more
-
Some say using liberty of conscience and giving
one’s opinion leads to division while others say that it serves to appease
-
Liberty of conscience cannot always be given,
and does not do well in all situations
Chapter 20- That We Taste Nothing Pure
-
We can never experience the true nature of all
that is good without some sort of bitterness accompanying it; we ourselves
complain even about our greatest pleasures
-
Pain and pleasure go hand in hand as well as
labor and pleasure; even in sorrow we feel happiness
-
We can never feel neither pure sorrow nor pure
joy; there can be no virtue w/o a trace of vice or justice w/o some injustice
-
Sometimes necessary to dilute the pureness of
something in order for it to be successful
-
All humans are diverse/motley; never truly pure
Chapter 21- Against Idleness
-
Emperor Vespasian even on his deathbed continued
to tend to his affairs “An emperor must die standing”
-
Victories obtained in one’s absence never truly
belong nor are complete; nobody performs his duties by standing still
-
Seen as respectable and manly to continue ones
efforts even when they are burdened (i.e. sickness); king of Fez continued his fight until the
very end
-
courageous to live through life even after death
greets you at the doorway
Chapter 22- Of Posting
-
Many different methods carried out in order to
have news circulate as fast as possible
-
King Cyrus aptd. many men at different
distances; Lucius Vibullis Rufus took many fresh horses; Cecina used swallows;
D. Brutus used pigeons; the Wallachians dismounted other riders as they
pleased; etc.
Chapter 23- Of Ill Means Employed to a Good End
-
Purgations have been applied in instances of
sickness (whether good or bad); people have been sent to inhabit other lands by
the Romans in order to expand; and wars have been maintained to control the
numbers of their youth
-
Some wish for war in order that the politic body
will not be in ruins
-
Some wished criminals be cut up in for the sole
purpose of making more discoveries about anatomy
-
Made people witness the murder of thousands of
men so that they would show no weakness when their time would come
-
Men and women willingly gave their lives for
purposes that were not of their concern
Chapter 24- Of the Roman Grandeur
-
Ceasar’s letter shows just how easily kingdoms
were given to ordinary gentleman
-
Marcus Antonius states grandeur of Rome lies in
what they gave not in what they took
-
Great height of power; kingdoms gained in war were restored to
rightful owners; kingdoms sometimes
presented to strangers
Chapter 25- Not to Counterfeit Being Sick
-
Story of Caelius: feigned having gout, got gout
-
Appian story where a man went into disguise and
plastered his left eye, ended up losing sight in that eye
-
Fortune seems to enjoy making bad situations
come true when we fake them
-
Our diseases are within each of us, it does no
good to go looking for them; when we don’t know we are sick, the cure is more
difficult to come along
Chapter 26- Of Thumbs
-
Thumbs would symbolize a firm obligation to
barbarian kings; physicians look at the thumbs as the masters of the hand
-
The Latins saw the thumb as a hand all by
itself; thumbs also represented a signification of favour
-
The lack of thumbs was seen as a sort of
impairment and exempted people from doing many things
-
Thumbs held importance
Chapter 27- Cowardice the Mother of Cruelty
-
Maliciousness is accompanied by “feminine”
weakness; cruel people are apt to cry
-
Those who massacre in war do so after the enemy
is at their mercy; “cowardly dogs”
-
Killing is an act of fear and never truly serves
as revenge; you end a life simply as a precaution to yourself b/c your
cowardice fears that he will hurt you first
-
We conquer to maintain our safety not our honor;
some look towards death as an invitation to be cruel
-
Being cowardly and having a multitude to help
defend you can lead to disastrous results and your own demise
-
Jealousy of courage makes up the ‘honor’ of
combat
-
Warlike fights neglect law and justice and
weaken the govt
-
Those who are timorous and cowardly find solace
in killing those who may one day hurt them; a vicious cycle of cruelty and
revenge
-
Choice of greatest cruelty lies in whether
vengeance should be violent but short or long but not as painful
-
Torture= cowardice; any death that is not a
simple one is cruel
Chapter 28- All Things Have Their Season
-
Observes that often when our time is almost up
we seem to feel a new desire to live and learn
-
“the young are to make their preparations, the
old to enjoy them”
-
States that all things are not for all ages
-
Whatever we may do should be so that it is
“suitable” to our present season
-
Does not necessarily like the idea of an elder
person studying new concepts or going to school
Chapter 29- Of Virtue
-
In order to fully judge someone you must observe
their common actions
-
Pyrrho through constancy and perseverance
attempted to make his manner consistent to his doctrine; seen scolding sister
and defending himself against a dog
-
Sometimes people who through common actions seem
consistent, form a resolution suddenly that would be seen as shocking
-
Oriental wives willingly kill themselves after
the death of their husbands; seen as a honor
-
Death seems carefully planned out; yet we never
what events will happen until we see
them ourselves
-
When life is secured by destiny no harm can
budge fate; when it is not your time you will not go
-
Likewise when the odds seem completely against
one the feat that they wish to accomplish they can achieve
Chapter 30- Of a Monstrous Child
-
Child with double body and several limbs seen as
monstrous; man with no genital parts seen as a freak
-
These are not monsters in Gods eyes; these works
are simply unknown and different in the eyes of the man
-
This difference is what categorizes these beings
as contrary to nature, however nothing is contrary to nature and all that is
new should not be seen as a mistake
Chapter 31- Of Anger
-
Anger leaves no place for right judgment; we
find our motives completely different than what we wished (i.e. correction<revenge)
-
Passion speaks when anger takes hold, we are not
ourselves; anger changes our perception of things
-
Saying is
a different thing than doing
-
“he who
speaks what he thinks, strikes much more home than he who only feigns”
-
It is best not to act at all when angry, for
sometimes we can be angry with truth itself
-
The most choleric man can also be the most
patient for he has to constantly moderate his anger
-
However the more you try to hide you anger the
more you fall under it, it is best to let it go than to let it accumulate and
try to conceal it
-
No matter how strong we may think we are anger
can carry us quite far over a trifling matter
-
Best to acknowledge the great power anger can
have over us, and that although we think we can use it in our favor almost
always manipulates us
Chapter 32- Defense of Seneca and Plutarch
-
Feels that it is necessary to stand up for
Seneca and Plutarch for they have greatly influenced his writings
-
Dion makes Seneca to be avaricious, ambitious,
and effeminate while according to Montaigne his actions prove the contrary;
believes Roman historians more than Greeks and foreigners
-
Jean Bodin accuses Plutarch of writing
“absolutely fabulous things” but Montaigne states that he wanted to suspend
belief and has witnessed some of the seemingly ridiculous things Plutarch has
written about
-
Goes on to include examples of obstinate
resolution that seem almost impossible but that occurred often
-
“obstinacy is the sister of constancy”
-
Bodin states that Plutarch said false things b/c
he was not familiar with the things he wrote about
-
Plutarch accused of partiality; Montaigne
defends by saying he gave separate judgments to all
Chapter 33- The Story of Spurina
-
Some say the feelings of love weaken the body
and thus do all they can to rid themselves of this appetite
-
However these ‘appetites’ cannot be satiated nor
helped; seen in the amorous delights of Ceaser
-
Even valiant and ambitious captains yearn for
pleasure and enjoyment
-
Even great knowledgeable men can be overcome
with passion that guides them to pleasure
-
Venus: ‘natural sweetness’, confidence,
grandeur; good inclinations stifled by his ambition, his vanity was his great
vice
-
A hatred is felt towards one’s own graces which
produce envy and admiration in others; Spurnia had a furious spite against
himself for having such endowments of nature
-
Disfigured his own beautiful face; Montaigne
fears that either way he will please no one with his actions
-
Some avoid the pain of living well
Chapter 34- Observation on the Means to Carry on a War According
to Julius Caesar
-
Would exaggerate the truth so that the soldiers
would find the enemy weaker than expected and thus be prepared
-
Trained them to obey and only gave orders at the
point of execution
-
Required only valor from his soldiers, knew how
to make the best of all situations
-
“was his custom to be night and day with his
pioneers”; Caesar was very abstinent
-
*subdued kingdom of Egypt and attacked forces of
Scipio and Juba; “boldness and vehement
confidence”
-
“tis not the number of men, but the number of
good men, that gives the advantage”
-
Soldiers were loyal, honorable, and
tenacious; reason maintained even
through passion
-
Managed to control the thirst for glory
Chapter 35- Of Three Good Women
-
Women tend to conceal their love for their
husbands until after their death
-
States that women who wept during their husbands
lives should laugh at their death; however they put up an act, not to lament
the dead but to get a new husband
-
First good woman killed herself along with her
husband b/c his sickness would take his life anyway; maintained the loyal
affection she had of him during all her life
-
Second good woman seeing her husband taken
prisoner ordered to be reunited with him so that they could both die together,
even after she killed herself she reassured him that it was painless
-
Third woman offered to give her life with her
husband and had both their veins cut open; she was saved despite her wishes to
die
-
Paulina’s husband prolonged his life on her
accord; “tis a testimony of grandeour courage to return to life for the
consideration of another”
Chapter 36- Of the Most Excellent Men
-
Homer= guide and teacher; “perfect instructor in
the knowledge of all things”
-
The first and last of the poets, work is seen as
perfect and is widely famous
-
Alexander the Great; obtained great
accomplishments at such a young age, “master of justice, liberality, truth in
his word, love towards his own people…”
-
“the first of men”; list of his military
virtues; left legacy even after his death
-
Epaminondas “greatest man” of the Greek nation;
better than even the previous two
-
“never a man knew so much, and spake so little
as he”; excellent orator; he is a man of virtue throughout
-
Preferred his parents pleasure over his own;
humane, victorious, prosperity of country died w/ him
Chapter 37- Of the Resemblance of Children to their Fathers
-
Most wish to die before they run into
disadvantages of old age however once they find themselves in wretched
conditions they yearn to live
-
The closer you are to death, the least afraid
you are of it
-
States that if one fins a method of dealing with
their pain they must act it out (groaning, agitating, tumbling, etc.)
-
Pains can deaden ones desires and appetites even
if you are still capable of acting rationally
-
Sometimes our humility can reveal our ignorance
-
Montaigne’s antipathy for physicians runs
throughout his family ( father, grandfather, great-grandfather)
-
Through experience we learn to dread certain
things
-
“ ‘Tis the fear of death and of pain, impatience
of disease, and a violent and indiscreet desire of a present cure that so blind
us”
-
The diversity between opinions is universal, it
would be extremely strange for two thoughts from two different people to agree
Book the Third
Chapter 1- Of Profit and Honesty
-
We are imperfect but there is nothing useless in
nature; even the sickly qualities make up human life
-
“poisons are useful for the conservation of
health”
-
Through honesty you receive liberty and
freedom; “anger and hatred are beyond
the duty of justice”
-
It is not honest to be wavering and irresolute
-
We cannot call courage that which springs forth
form discontent, it leads to no just act
-
You can use your enemies to your own profit
being careful not to tangle yourself with them
-
He who is unfaithful to himself is unfaithful to
everyone
-
Innocence itself finds itself needing to lie; justice
has no solid shape
-
Some necessary actions that bring forth profit
are dishonest and foul; treachery is only excusable when it betrays treachery
-
Dishonest men look to death as the means of
erasing their crimes
-
Violent actions+ purest innocence+ sweetness+
steadfastness= justice (Epaminondas)
-
“Let us deprive wicked, bloody, and treacherous
natures of such pretense of reason”
Chapter 2- Of Repentance
-
“vice
leaves repentance in the soul, like in ulcer in the flesh”;
-
the approval of others on your actions is not
always sound, their praises and reproaches can be false
-
Only you know your true inner person for others
do not see you the same way you see yourself
-
Repentance does not immediately come after the
sin is committed
-
Vicious souls are to be judged by their settled
states and by their original dispositions
-
Sometimes are vices have been with us so long
that we do not see the harm in them or sometimes the temptation is just too
strong to repent
-
When sin is recognized but we continue to commit
it, although we can say we repent we truly don’t
-
We make think we feel grief but we show no
correction or amendment
-
Repentance can be confused for dissatisfaction
and sorrow
-
“we do not forsake vices as we change them, and
in my opinion, for the worse”
Chapter 3- Of Three Commerces
-
Life is unequal and irregular and we must learn
to perform more than one task
-
We must exercise our minds, meditation is a
powerful and full study
-
Reading helps people gain reason and employ
judgment; “we must moderate and adapt our desires to the nearest and easiest to
be acquired things”
-
Prefers to humble his mind than to elevate it
-
“Lay aside power and subtilty in common
conversation..”
-
Solitude can simply mean keeping ones thoughts
to himself, his own cares and desires
-
Everything comes with its inconveniences even
that which brings us pleasure
Chapter 4- Of Diversion
-
Public diversions are too frequently found in
history (Monseigneur d’Hempricourt)
-
When you divert the thoughts they don’t
disappear but they do decline
-
Sometimes diversion of thoughts enable one to do
feats otherwise unthinkable (death)
-
The passion and struggle of war diverts the
soldiers thoughts from death and gore
-
“These are sedatives and alleviations to the
greatest pains”- Cicero
-
Diverting either feelings or ambitions that are
much too string for you can be beneficial
-
“A little thing will turn and divert us, because
a little thing holds us.”
-
Humans will mold and play with truth to diver
their true feelings into whatever they desire
Chapter 5- Upon Some Verses of Virgil
-
We seek pleasure in the memories of our past, we
let their images take over our mind
-
Pleasure is for those who have very little
ambition
-
However tranquility does no good either for it
begins to numb and stupefy you
-
“Everyone is wary and discreet in confession,
but men ought to be so in action”
-
When you try to hide certain actions or virtues
form others, you attempt to conceal them from yourself as well
-
Those who work only for the benefit of honor and
glory never show their true selves
-
Qualities and virtues may be interrelated with
one another however they cannot be confused for each other (i.e. nobility =
virtue?)
-
“… so unsteady and vain is all human
resolution!”
-
Modesty serves as an attraction to men,
encourages them and serves to make them love all the better
-
The boundaries and limits of honor can stretch a
little without committing fault
-
The more difficult a “conquest” is, the more
valuable is it to those whom pursue it
-
Jealousy = “the same causes that served for a
foundation of good-will serve them for a foundation of mortal hatred”
-
The attention we place on trivial things keeps
us form truly observing those that are necessary and just
-
Both sexes come from the same mold and
Antisthenes rejected all distinction between their virtues
-
Makes a point, “that nothing so much throws us
into danger as an inconsiderate eagerness of getting ourselves clear of them.”
-
After close encounter w/ death nothing is the
same.
-
Royalty uses their money to entertain their eyes
rather of tending to bellies.
-
Those who only think of taking never think of
what they have taken, and w / ingratitude.
-
A king has nothing his own, but owes himself to
the people.
-
He thinks that our knowledge is weak; we neither
see forward nor far backward, we understand little.
-
There is nothing single & rare in respect of
naturel, but our knowledge (“a wretched foundation”) represents to us a false
image.
-
Respects those who die with their dignity and
fighting for beliefs. (Nobel conquest)
-
They had taken advantage of natives ignorance
& inexperience, & eased them into treachery, luxury,, & towards all
inhumanity & cruelty, by their manners.
-
King of Peru is framed to have raised an
insurrection of his provinces, he was hanged, and the people did expensive
funerals
-
Conquerors are cruel and barbarous.
-
He ends this chapter with a king of Peru in the
middle of his army many of his men were killed, but he was eventually conquered
by a horseman
Chapter 7- Of the Inconvenience of Greatness
-
Growing moderately in prudence, health, beauty,
or riches, is better than blu in the end it oppresses imagination.
-
He doesn’t measure fortune by the height, but by
how much room.
-
He believes those that discharge the king of
office have the hardest job. “ For how can something so immeasurable be
measured”
-
He believes Greek gods are transported with
passions like anger fear, grief, and jealousy, so we can honour them “w/ the
virtues that, amongst us, have built upon these imperfections”.
-
These loyal to royalty “leave nothing to recommend
themselves w/, but actions that directly concern & serve the function of
their place”.
Chapter 8- Of the Art of Conference
-
A man named Pluto was hanged b/c he spoke freely
to the tyrant (condemning someone for warning others)
-
A man’s accusations of himself are always
believed, while his praises never.
-
Conversation can stir up someone’s imagination,
and even though something may be raising w/I you , your mind fortifying itself
by communication
-
Foolishness is a bad quality, especially in an
argument, b/c they are impetus.
-
Contradictions only raise his attention blue the
truth is what he seeks even at his own expense.
-
Yet realizes that it is hard to find men that
have enough courage to correct and be corrected.
-
It’s dull to be with people that agree
w/everything you say.
-
It’s frustrating to him that people with
knowledge on a subject don’t share it.
-
The best arguments are not when you reach
eminent wit, but when you know the person and whether the person is worth of
imitation.
-
When judging someone else we shouldn’t spare
ourselves.
-
Those who have not lifted as much as they can
leave you to guess & have not tried their hardest , while he who sinks
under his load knows his best & the weakness of his shoulders.
-
Judge by justice + choose men by reason= perfect
firm of Gov.
-
Observations: men aren’t judged by worth, but by
class & a man may say a good thing w/o seeing force of either the 1 or the
other.
-
A fool may catch at what your trying to say and
rob you of your interpretation.
-
Prudence forbids us to satisfy & trust
ourselves, while stubbornness & temerity fill those w/ joy & assurance.
-
Tacitus always argues by strong & solid
reasons. His book is more judgment than a narration of history.
-
All judgments are weak & imperfect
Chapter 9- Of Vanity
-
He scorns himself if he mends only to halves,
and has more of an interest to improve his health when he is well instead of
restoring it when ill.
-
He envies those that are satisfied with
themselves and value what they have above all the rest, but because of their
wisdom, but because of their good fortune.
-
He is
concerned w/ preventing poverty by lessening your own expense.
-
He enjoys another man’s house w/ greater and
purer relish than of his own.
-
“ I had rather be a good horseman than a good
logician
-
One of his wishes at this time is to have a
son-in law that cherishes his old age and have someone to give all his goods,
so that he could deposit it the way he would, but that’s only if he is a friend
and is truly acknowledging, yet people have trouble trusting their own kids at
this time.
-
Hates poverty but would be content living a
humbler life.
-
“ I think it unhandsome to talk much to our
guests of their entertaining, whether by way of bragging or excuse.
-
We deprive ourselves of our own advantages to
accommodate to the common opinions
-
Innovation upon a state only gives form to
injustice and tyranny.
-
A civil government continues against mortal and
intestine diseases, against unjust laws, against tyranny, and against the
ignorance of magistrates and against the treason of people.
-
He would rather peak an interest in his reader
than tire him.
-
Seems very against being indebted to people for
having to oblige.
-
It’s hard for him to imagine those that aren’t
“discreditable, tyrannical, and tainted w/ reproach.”
-
He believes that great people are ambitious to
make themselves beloved.
-
When going to bed he has apprehension b/c he
thinks that he may be betrayed or murdered that night.
-
He sometimes imagines mortal dangers for himself
with a kind of delight.
-
Travel is profitable for the souls observes new
and unknown things and it exposes the diversity of others, and get to relish in
the sight of other forms of human nature
-
He believes that women or wife should be able to
manage their finances while the man is away
-
Believes that it is ridiculous and unjust that
their lazy wives have to be maintained with the men’s sweat and labor
-
“, tis for youth to subject itself to common
opinions, and to curb itself to please others”
-
“ Tis injustice to excuse youth for pursing its
pleasures, and to forbid old men to seek them.”
-
When he dies he prefers to die alone instead of
having to give a heartbreaking farewell.
-
“ Let us
live and be merry amongst our friends; let us go repine and die amongst
strangers”
-
Friends are better than water and fire.
-
We can
lean on other but not our whole weight for then we will be crushing them.
-
Has seen that foreigners will not mix with any
but their own, and look at another world with pity or disdain
-
Prefers to have company but rather be alone if
the company is troublesome.
-
People may give advice to others yet not follow
it themselves
-
Is
disgusted sometimes with the world b/c it is not clear, mixed and artificial,
and not purely innocent.
-
An honorable mark of goodness is to be able to
confess one’s own faults who is also unwilling to follow them but decides to be
better
-
“ nothing good can be born now, the seed is so
corrupt”
-
“We go forward with the current, but to turn
back towards ourselves is a painful motion; so is the sea moved and troubled
when the waves rush against one another”
Chapter 10- Of Managing the Will
-
He believes that people should lend himself to
other and only give himself to himself.
-
People should keep to their own business.
-
Other people are the one to occupy us not
ourselves, b/c some have accustomed themselves to be at everyone’s call.
-
Pleasure itself is pain if you think about it.
-
Michel was choosen as mayor of Bordeaux do to
the honour they had toward his late father. His father was a good natured,
charitable & popular soul, yet he himself has difficulty following his
example.
-
The ignorant judge and therefore are always
being deceived.
-
He who carries himself more moderately toward
both gain and lose, plays much more advantageously and surely.
-
“ A man is not a member of the body; if it be in
his power to forsake it, & if he do not roll the common way.”
-
“ For want of prudence, men fall into want of
courage, which is still more
intolerable.”
-
Dwarfish souls who spend their fame for having
given right judgment in an affair yet the more they think to exalt their heads
the more they show their tails.
-
“ all things seem more laudable to me that are
performed without ostentation,& without the testimony of the people.”
Chapter 11- Of Cripples
-
Pleasant talkers are those that are, “willingly
study to find out reasons than to ascertain truth… and are curious in
examination of consequence; they leave the things and fly to the causes”
-
It may be rude to deny a stated fact
-
“Men are commonly inclined to make way for their
own opinions”
-
The continuation of getting to know yourself
will further bring you to astonishment
-
Those that want to be cured of ignorance must
confess to it
-
We are accustomed to believe what we don’t
understand and because it is unclear it is easier to give credit
-
“tis better to lean towards doubt than
assurance, in things hard to prove and dangerous to believe”
-
Prefers not to make potent conclusions because
it may be overconfident
Chapter 12- Of Physiognomy
-
“We are taught to borrow and to beg, and brought
up more to make use of what is another’s than of our own.”
-
There are wars that are bent towards strangers
it doesn’t just hurt the others but themselves with its own poison and it just
ruins itself in the end.
-
“ how great an impiety it is not to expect from
God and relief simply his own and without our co- operation”
-
“ Nothing has a more deceiving face than false
religion, where the divinity of the gods is obscured by crimes”
-
He would rather rise to an accusation instead
and rise to meet it rather than giving a taunting confession
-
Accidents serve to prepare you for worse
-
When death is near it requires a slow courage,
but sadly hardtop get.
-
“we should always have death before our eyes, to
see and consider it before time, and then gives us rules and precautions to
provide that this foresight does not harm us”
-
Nothing better than a profound sleep without
dreams.
-
“I cannot often enough repeat how great an
esteem I have for beauty, that potent and advantageous quality”
-
“a person’s look is but a feeble warranty; and
yet it is something considerable too”
Chapter 13- Of Experience
-
“As we were formerly by crimes, so we are now
overburdened by laws”
-
He thinks laws should be simple and general, and
thinks it would be best to have none at all than to have them in so prodigious
number that we have.
-
The form of this justice that governs us is a
true testimony of human weakness
-
“to learn that a man has said or done a foolish
thing is nothing: a man must learn that he is nothing but a fool, a much more
ample, and important instruction”
-
The corruption that comes with the position of
being king can’t be evaded.
-
His regular habits don’t change in sickness or
in health.
-
“A man should addict himself to the best rules,
but not enslave himself to them, except to such, if there be any such, where
obligation and servitude are of profit”
-
he thinks that we are patiently suffering the
laws of our conditions like growing old, weak and sick even with medicines
-
“the harmony of the world is compose of a
variety of tones, sweet and harsh, sprightly and solemn”
-
Health seems even greater, after having a
sickness so near and contagious
-
He rather help those that most need of him, than
those that that have power to help him.
-
God is favorable to those of old age because
their death is much less painful; “it will kill but a half or a quarter of a
man”
-
“ young men are taken away by violence, old men
by maturity”
-
Prefers the winter instead of summer
-
“There is jealousy and envy amongst our
pleasure; they cross and hinder one another”
-
Greatness of soul doesn’t consist of moving
forward, but knowing how to govern and circumscribe itself.
-
“Intemperance is the pest of pleasure, and
temperance is not its scourge but rather its seasoning”
-
Pain, hate, pleasure, and love are things that
kids can be sensible because these virtues apply to them.
-
He loves life and hopes to enjoy including the
food and drink, because God has bestowed upon us.
-
It’s wrong to marry if complete opposites like: reasonable
& unreasonable, honest &dishonest, the divine & the earthly.
-
“Nature is a gentle guide, but no more sweet and
gentle than prudent and just.”
-
“Grant it to me Apollo, that I may enjoy my
possessions in good health, let me be sound in mind; let me not lead a
dishonorable old age, nor want the cittern.”
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