Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)

This month's selection, "Of Friendhip" and "Of Solitude" form a "boxed set."  The first is a eulogy to Montaigne's deceased friend, Etienne de la Boétie, the second a paean to the solitary, contemplative life. The translator of these essais, Donald Frame, has written of Montaigne, "His greatest attraction for most readers is that the book reveals a man and that the man becomes a friend and often another self."