Michel de Montaigne's literary style

The literary style of Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) teaches us key lessons in the field of self-improvement. I mean lessons of universal validity that anyone can put into practice right now. Literary critics have analysed Montaigne’s works from the standpoint of tone, subjects, and structure. I am however going to concentrate on Montaigne’s philosophical style and refer to all other aspects along the way. I am convinced that philosophy is the driver of Montaigne’s literary style. His philosophical search determined his tone, the choice of subjects, and the structure of his works. Thus let us pass review to Montaigne’s philosophical style, underlining the practical lessons for today’s readers. If we put into practice those lessons, chances are that we’ll make fewer mistakes and better decisions. Montaigne had established a clear objective for himself before committing any words to paper. I don’t subscribe to the hypothesis that, for practically two decades, he was choosing random subjects and writing about them just because he found it enjoyable. Nobody in his right mind would keep going with full energy for twenty years, day in and day out, if he didn’t have a precise objective in mind. Montaigne’s key objective was philosophical enlightenment, first of all for himself, and indirectly, for his readers. Let’s bear in mind that, during his initial decade of writing, he couldn’t be even remotely sure that he would find readers for his works. No wonder that literary critics describe Montaigne’s style as reflective and prone to self-examination. Indeed, Montaigne is the archetype of the philosopher qua writer. However, Montaigne decided not to emulate Seneca (4 BC-65 AD) and Marcus Aurelius (121-180 AD), finding them too repetitive and imprecise. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/michel-de-montaignes-literary-style/