Montaigne's Politics:
Authority and Governance in the Essais
Biancamaria Fontana

Cloth | 2008 | $29.95 / £17.95
216 pp. | 6 x 9

Shopping Cart | Endorsements | Table of Contents
Introduction [HTML] or [PDF]

Michel de Montaigne (1533-92) is principally known today as a literary figure--the inventor of the modern essay and the pioneer of autobiographical self-exploration who retired from politics in midlife to write his private, philosophical, and apolitical Essais. But, as Biancamaria Fontana argues in Montaigne's Politics, a novel, vivid account of the political meaning of the Essais in the context of Montaigne's life and times, his retirement from the Bordeaux parliament in 1570 "could be said to have marked the beginning, rather than the end, of his public career." He later served as mayor of Bordeaux and advisor to King Henry of Navarre, and, as Fontana argues, Montaigne's Essais very much reflect his ongoing involvement and preoccupation with contemporary politics--particularly the politics of France's civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. Fontana shows that the Essais, although written as a record of Montaigne's personal experiences, do nothing less than set forth the first major critique of France's ancien régime, anticipating the main themes of Enlightenment writers such as Voltaire and Diderot. Challenging the views that Montaigne was politically aloof or evasive, or that he was a conservative skeptic and supporter of absolute monarchy, Fontana explores many of the central political issues in Montaigne's work--the reform of legal institutions, the prospects of religious toleration, the role of public opinion, and the legitimacy of political regimes.

Biancamaria Fontana is professor of the history of political ideas at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Her books include Rethinking the Politics of Commercial Society and Benjamin Constant and the Post-Revolutionary Mind.

Endorsements:

"Montaigne's Politics offers a lucid overview of--and new insights into--Montaigne's political theory (and practice). It is well informed of Montaigne's Essais, the secondary literature, and the historical context."--Antoine Compagnon, Columbia University and the Sorbonne

"This well-conceived work valuably fills an important gap in the scholarship. The historical, contextual, and biographical material is substantial and illuminating. It covers a wide expanse of ground in great depth."--Michael Moriarty, Queen Mary, University of London

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
CHAPTER ONE: The Spirit of the Laws 26
CHAPTER TWO: In a Leaden Century: The Decline of Virtue 45
CHAPTER THREE: Freedom of Conscience: The Politics of Toleration 66
CHAPTER FOUR: Freedom of Conscience: Governing Opinion 85
CHAPTER FIVE: Turning the Tide: Trust and Legitimacy 104
CHAPTER SIX: Learning from Experience: Politics as Practice 122
CONCLUSION: Montaigne's Legacy 141
Notes 147
Bibliography 183
Index 203

Subject Areas:

• Political Philosophy
• Philosophy

Shopping Cart:

For customers in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Asia, and Australia
Cloth: $29.95 ISBN13: 978-0-691-13122-1

For customers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India
Cloth: £17.95 ISBN13: 978-0-691-13122-1

Prices subject to change without notice

File created: 7/1/2008

Questions and comments to: webmaster@press.princeton.edu
Princeton University Press