Virtual Memories

What I’m reading: I finished Up in the Air last week, and enjoyed the heck out of it. I’m still sifting through my impressions of the book as a time capsule of the end of the ’90′s. It was published in 2001, just a few months before 9/11. While that event’s obviously (to me) the [...]

Last year, one of my Montaigne posts included his description of his library, which is one of the few things in life I’m envious of. But now the New York Observer tells me it can all be ours — on Central Park West, no less — for a mere $7.5 million! Seriously, go over to [...]

Aesop, that great man, saw his master pissing as he walked. “What next?” he said. “Shall we have to shit as we run?” Let us manage our time; we shall still have a lot left idle and ill spent. Sorry, dear readers, but I’ll write my last MMM post next week. I’m kinda busy this [...]

It takes Montaigne 22 pages to bring physiognomy into Of physiognomy (pp. 964-992), but Socrates’ ugly mug looms over the entire essay. M. uses the essay to stress his desire for natural virtue, for living within one’s nature, for allowing death in its time. Law and religion should “perfect and authorize” this virtue, but we [...]

Don’t invent reasons to explain every fact. For example, just because you had really good sex with a crippled woman, it does not validate a proverb that says cripples are better in bed. Seriously. That’s the example he chose. On to Of physiognomy!

There’s a lot going on in Of husbanding your will (pp. 932-954): Montaigne relates the experience of his two-term stint as mayor of Bordeaux (by good luck, he didn’t have to do anything dramatic); he explains how the idea of giving up one’s own desires for the “greater good” is horseshit (or, at best, a [...]

I think Montaigne’s fighting with the Essays as much as I am. At least, after 56 pages of Of vanity (pp. 876-932), I feel as if I have less of a grip on them than I did before. Since I haven’t read any background material or criticism, I have no idea if he knew he [...]

With only six of the Essays remaining, I feel as though there should be some sort of growing imperative, a sense of completion in the final 200 pages. So I was a bit disappointed when I read (and re-read) Montaigne’s Of the art of discussion (pp. 854-876), but I didn’t think the last season of [...]

With Of the disadvantage of greatness (pp. 849-853), Montaigne counters Mel Brooks’ wisdom that “it’s good to be the king.” M. concedes that the actions and effects of kings are awesome, but the tradeoff is that they’ll never have a measure of themselves because of the deference of their subjects. See, in M.’s childhood, his [...]

As near as I can tell, this is Montaigne’s progression in Of coaches (pp. 831-849): I don’t like riding in coaches; I’m much more comfortable on horseback. Some ancient kings and emperors sure used some strange and extravagant means of conveying their coaches. Kings and emperors tend to spend their subjects’ money liberally and ostentatiously. [...]