Les Essais

1659 1ed Essays of Montaigne French Renaissance Philosophy Foppens Elzevier 3v First published in 1580, the Essays of Michel de Montaigne were a collection of essays and writings on a variety of topics and content. Montaigne was rather decisive in his rhetoric and used various Ancient Greek, Latin, and Italian texts as examples and references, such as Lucretius and Plutarch quotations. Montaigne himself stated that the goal of his essays was to describe man with 'utter frankness and honesty.' According to the scholar Paul Oskar Kristeller, "the writers of the period were keenly aware of the miseries and ills of our earthly existence." Montaigne sought to break man down into his basic features, which, at the time, was extreme volatility. He wrote on marriage being an absolute necessity for raising children, but he also quoted, in the 'Essays,' that "Marriage is like a cage; one sees the birds outside desperate to get in, and those inside desperate to get out". This three-volume mixed edition was published by Foppens in Brussels. Curiously though, the first edition (volumes 2 and 3 of this example) feature the publisher Michiels from Amsterdam. According to Elzevier bibliographers, this first was edition was long attributed to Elzevier publishers, even though the publisher information states otherwise. Item number: #21940 Price: $795 MONTAIGNE, Michel de Les Essais A Amsterdam: Chez Anthoine Michiels, 1659. First edition. Details: • Collation: Complete with all pages; 3 volumes o Vol. I – [48], 468  Bruxelles: Foppens on title page  Includes engraved title page o Vol. II – [4], 708 o Vol. III – [4], 510, [78] • References: Willems 1982; Rahir, p. 549 • Language: French • Binding: Leather; tight and secure • Size: ~6in X 3.75in (15cm x 9cm) Our Guarantee: Very Fast. Very Safe. Free Shipping Worldwide. Customer satisfaction is our priority! Notify us with 7 days of receiving, and we will offer a full refund without reservation! 21940 Photos available upon request.