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MicheldeMontaigne
AccidentalPhilosopher
MicheldeMontaigne,theinventoroftheessay,hasalwaysbeenac-
knowledgedasagreatliteraryfigurebuthasneverbeenthoughtof
asaphilosophicaloriginal.ThisbookisthefirsttotreatMontaigne
as a serious thinker in his own right, taking as its point of depar-
tureMontaigne’sdescriptionofhimselfas“anunpremeditatedand
accidentalphilosopher.”
WhereaspreviouscommentatorshavetreatedMontaigne’sEssays
as embodying a skepticism harking back to classical sources, Ann
Hartle offers a fresh account that reveals Montaigne’s thought to
bedialectical,transformingskepticaldoubtintowonderatthemost
familiar aspects of life. The essay is the new philosophical form of
thisdialecticalthought,inwhichtheworldispresentedasradically
contingent but where the divine is present in an incarnational and
sacramentalway.
Thismajorreassessmentofamuchadmiredbutalsomuchunder-
estimatedthinkerwillinterestawiderangeof historiansofphiloso-
phyaswellasscholarsincomparativeliterature,Frenchstudies,and
thehistoryofideas.
AnnHartleisProfessorofPhilosophyatEmoryUniversity.
Tomyson,RobertWymanHartle,Jr.
Michel de Montaigne
Accidental Philosopher
ANN HARTLE
EmoryUniversity
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge , United Kingdom
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521821681
© Ann Hartle 2003
This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2003
-
isbn-13 978-0-511-05557-7 eBook (Adobe Reader)
-
isbn-10 0-511-05557-9 eBook (Adobe Reader)
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isbn-13 978-0-521-82168-1 hardback
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isbn-10 0-521-82168-1 hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of
s for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Contents
Acknowledgments pagevii
NoteontheTexts viii
Introduction 1
part i: a new figure
1 “ThatIsWhereHeGotIt!”:Montaigne’sCapricesandthe
HumorsofAncientPhilosophy 11
SkepticismTransformed 13
DeliberatePhilosophy 25
WhatIsAccidentalPhilosophy? 33
2 BendingandStretchingtheCategoriesofTraditional
Metaphysics 39
BeingandBecoming 40
Nature 41
Causality 54
TheUniversalandtheParticular 58
3 TheEssayasPhilosophicalForm 62
TheMeaningof“Essay” 63
Purpose 65
Audience 72
ThePracticeofQuotationandtheEssenceofThought 74
TheDialecticofHistoryandPoetry 78
DaemonicOrder 83
part ii: accidental philosophy
4 TheCircularDialecticofSelf-Knowledge 91
CircularDialectic 91
TheDialecticofPresumption 106
v
vi Contents
5 “WhatItMeanstoBelieve” 121
NatureandGrace 122
TheDialecticofFaithandReason 134
TheHarmonyofFaithandReason 144
6 TheLatentMetaphysicsofAccidentalPhilosophy 149
ThoughtThinkingThought 150
AccidentalBeing 157
part iii: the character of the accidental philosopher
7 Montaigne’sCharacter:TheGreat-SouledManwithoutPride 171
“TruthSaidinLaughing” 171
TheFriendshipThatWeOweOurselves 176
RelocatingtheGreat-SouledMan 182
OpennessofHeartandTongue 188
8 WhatHeLearnedintheNursery:AccidentalMoral
PhilosophyandMontaigne’sReformation 192
TheAccidentalAuthorityofExample 193
TheExcessesofVirtue 194
ModeratingVirtue 199
NaturalGoodnessandInnocence 204
Montaigne’sReformation 210
9 ChristianityandtheLimitsofPolitics 217
TheLimitsofPolitics 220
TwoCities 226
TheReligionofPublicness 230
Notes 241
WorksCited 283
Index 297
Acknowledgments
ThisstudyofthephilosophicallifehaskeptmemindfulofthedebtthatI
owetoJosephCarpino,GeraldGalgan,BrotherPascalKelly,NinoLangiulli,
andFrancisSlade,whofirstmademanifesttometheintegrityofthephilo-
sophicallifeandthelifeoffaith.Iwanttoacknowledgethatdebthereand
toexpressmydeepestgratitudefortheexampleandthefriendshipofeach
ofthem.
I am grateful for conversations over the years with Donald Livingston,
CarlPage,andDonaldVerene,conversationsthatneverfailedtoshedlight
formeonthenatureofphilosophyandtheworthofthephilosophicallife.
Eachofthesefriendsreadanearlierdraftofthisbookandgavemevaluable
suggestions for improving it. My thanks are also due to Gregory Johnson,
whosecommentsonanearlierdraftwereveryhelpfultome.TheResearch
CommitteeofEmoryUniversityprovidedfundingforaleaveduringwhich
muchofmyresearchwasdone.MythanksareduetoMichelleBradyforher
assistancewiththeresearch,andtoChristopherandSusanAnadalefortheir
editorialassistance.IoweadebtgreaterthanIcanexpresstomyhusband,
Robert,forthemanyconversationsthathelpedmetoclarifymyproject,for
the many hours spent in preparing the manuscript, and for his unfailing
encouragement.
An earlier version of the section on skepticism from Chapter 1 appeared
as“Montaigne’sScepticism,”MontaigneStudies12,nos.1–2(2000):75–90.
“The Dialectic of Faith and Reason in the Essays of Montaigne,” Faith and
Philosophy18,no.3(July2001):323–36,isbasedonsectionsofChapter5.
SomeoftheideasdevelopedinChapter8werefirstpublishedinPhilosophy
and Literature 24, no. 1 (April 2000): 138–53, as “Montaigne’s Accidental
MoralPhilosophy.”
vii
Note on the Texts
References to the French text of the Essais are to the edition by Pierre
Villey and V.-L. Saulnier, 3 vols., 2nd ed. (Paris: Presses Universitaires de
France,“Quadrige,”1992).TheEnglishtranslationisthatofDonaldFrame,
TheCompleteEssaysofMontaigne(Stanford,Calif.:StanfordUniversityPress,
1943). The citation (VS16; F9), for example, refers to p. 16 of the Villey-
Saulnier edition and to p. 9 of the Frame translation. In some instances,
I have emended Frame’s translation. I have consulted the translation by
M. A. Screech, The Essays of Michel de Montaigne (London: Penguin Press,
1991).ReferencestotheScreechtranslationsarecitedbytheletterSand
thepagenumber–(S614),forexample.
viii
