Treat life well

Author: (French) Montaigne / Long Jing
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: I actually know very well that if someone can, like me, make the benefit of enjoying life the purpose of life, then they should avoid the whims and pickiness of their temperament as they would avoid a plague. I admire those with diverse personalities, who can both expand and relax, both rise and go with the flow (no matter where fate places them); they can chat with their neighbors about their houses, their hunting, and their disputes with others, and also talk enthusiastically with a carpenter or gardener about the weather. How to Live Well combines book knowledge with life experience, with references scattered throughout and a style that is both easy and flowing, vivid and lively. With this work, Montaigne, along with Rabelais, laid the foundation for establishing French as a literary language and influenced a large group of writers such as Pascal, La Rochefoucauld, Rousseau, Montesquieu, Sainte-Beuve, René, and France. It is not easy to dislike Montaigne. Flaubert once recommended him to a depressed friend: "Read Montaigne, it will calm you." Shakespeare also found inspiration in How to Live Well from time to time. Montaigne is renowned for his erudition, and How to Live Well is all-encompassing, covering everything, becoming a collection of various knowledge at the time. The Austrian cultural historian Friedrich believed that Montaigne seemed to want to know everything and understand everything, while always smiling about it. "In most of his works, I see the writer; in this one, I see the thinker." Montesquieu once regarded Montaigne as one of the four great poets alongside Plato, Malherbe, and Shakespeare. In the late French Empire, the French Academy held an essay competition praising Montaigne, and the young Villermant won the prize; Béranger "read Montaigne over and over"; Debo· was obsessed with Montaigne's books, saying, "In that book, I saw the world: the poor, the slaves, the kings—I saw everything: did I see myself?" The Countess of Albany regarded How to Live Well as a "comfort"; Stendhal often referred to it while writing On Love; How to Live Well has become a testament to Montaigne's broad thoughts. It is like a "philosophy of life," reflecting Montaigne's profound "self" while also reflecting on how later generations can live better.