Montaigne Biography Montaigne (1533- 1592) was a humanist thinker in the French Renaissance. Leave a name for future generations with three volumes of sui records. Suilu opened the book and said, "There is no other material in my book, just us." Judging from his thoughts and feelings, it seems that people can regard him as a modern man who appeared in his time.
His essays are mainly philosophical essays, which are famous all over the world for their rich ideological connotations and are known as "the treasure house of ideas". There are many people influenced by Montaigne's thought in later generations, and a long list can be listed: Emerson, Nietzsche, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, Fan Long ... Montaigne's mother is of Spanish descent, and his father is a small aristocrat near Bordeaux, France. At that time, the nobles did not value the introduction of Montaigne, and joining the army was their bounden duty, so Montaigne often said that he was not a scholar; He likes to give people the impression that he doesn't study, but only occasionally "has no plan and no method" to flip through books; What he wrote was not polished, but he just wrote down the thoughts that triggered in his mind at the moment. It is purely "gossip, expressing feelings."
Montaigne inherited his father's territory in the countryside at the age of 37, plunged into the library on the third floor of the round tower and lived in seclusion.
Montaigne regards his retirement as the beginning of his old age, which is inspired by the philosophy of "the art of dying a fair death". In fact, the real reason for his retirement is to escape from society. He praises freedom, tranquility and leisure, and yearns for a leisurely life. However, his seclusion is not negative, but positive. Besides burying himself in his studies, he is also actively engaged in writing.
Montaigne once wanted to do the most difficult thing in the world: live the life he wanted, enjoy freedom and become more and more free. By the age of 50, he felt that he was close to this goal. However, an unusual thing happened: just when he was ready to stop asking about the world and concentrate on his own life, the world was looking for him.
On September 7th, 158 1, he received a letter informing him of his appointment as the mayor of Bordeaux and asking him to accept this important task out of "love for his motherland". This was really a heavy burden for Montaigne, who didn't seem to have made up his mind to give up his freedom at that time. As a patient, he was tortured to death by his gallstones, and sometimes even thought about suicide. However, as soon as he returned to the castle, he saw a personal letter from King Henry III. The date written on the letter is 158 1 year165438+1October 25th.
This letter turned the wishes of Bordeaux citizens into orders. Montaigne can't disobey such orders from the king, just as he is very reluctant to inherit gallstones from his father, so he is also very reluctant to inherit his father's legacy-the position of mayor.
The first thing he did was to warn his voters that they shouldn't expect him to die unreservedly like his father, who witnessed his father's "heart suffering from the entanglement of public affairs." Although Montaigne knows that he does not hold grudges, has no ambition, is not greedy for money and hates cruelty, he also knows his shortcomings: poor memory, lack of vigilance, lack of experience and courage. Just like his usual style, Montaigne is determined to continue to maintain the last, best and most precious quality for himself, that is, to perform his duties with the greatest seriousness and loyalty, rather than doing more things. In order to show the outside world that he will not leave his life, he did not settle his apartment in Bordeaux, but continued to live in his castle in Montaigne Farm. 1583 In July, after the expiration of his first term as mayor, he was re-elected as mayor for two years, which proved that his previous work was satisfactory.
1584, Henry of Navarra came to Montaigne Castle with 40 nobles and all his servants as followers. He slept in Montaigne's own bed and entrusted Montaigne with extremely secret tasks. Several years later, when there was a crisis between Henry III and the future Henry IV, the two monarchs called Montaigne as their mediator again.
1585, during Montaigne's second term as mayor of Bordeaux, a plague broke out in Bordeaux, and he had to flee hastily. During this period, municipal officials wrote to Montaigne in succession. They were indignant at Montaigne's escape. They asked Montaigne to come back. Finally, they informed him that his term as mayor had expired. However, Montaigne did not go back to attend the prescribed resignation ceremony.
1585 65438+ February, the plague has been eliminated. Montaigne returned to his castle after wandering for six months and began to write the third volume of essays.
As early as the17th century, Montaigne's reputation has spread all over the world. In Britain, Bacon's prose collection was deeply influenced by Montaigne. In the classical era of 17 century, some people thought that his loose prose was not to people's taste. However, in the18th century, he became famous again. The famous philosopher Diderot appreciated Montaigne's prose precisely because of the so-called "disorganization" and thought that "this is a natural expression". After more than 400 years of test, history has proved that Montaigne is as immortal as Shakespeare, Socrates and Michelangelo, and his prose is "unique in the same genre in the world", as he himself said.