Public-domain ebook
Language: en1,472 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: Essays, Letters & Speeches·Travel Writing·Philosophy & Ethics
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #70838.
The work is a travel journal that records Michel de Montaigne’s journey through Switzerland, the Holy Roman Empire, and Italy in 1580‑81. The manuscript was initially dictated to a servant‑secretary, whose mixed first‑ and third‑person entries were later revised by Montaigne himself, who took over the diary in February 1581. The opening notes explain the editorial challenges of reconciling the secretary’s prose with Montaigne’s marginal additions, and they outline the structure of the volume, sections on France, Switzerland, the Empire, and Tirol, along with a detailed list of the towns he visited, from Basel to Trent. The introduction situates the journal within Montaigne’s broader oeuvre, noting that, unlike his famed Essays, this record survived in relative obscurity until its 19th‑century publication, and that it offers a candid view of his observations on customs, architecture, and the everyday hardships of 16th‑century travel.
Written in a straightforward, reflective style that alternates between personal anecdote and measured commentary, the journal bears the unmistakable voice of a Renaissance humanist who values tolerance, practical judgment, and a skeptical distance from grandiose claims. Its language shifts between French and Italian as Montaigne crosses the Alps, preserving the immediacy of his experience while maintaining the learned tone of his essays. Readers who enjoy historical travel literature, early modern cultural comparison, or a more intimate portrait of Montaigne beyond his philosophical treatises will find this volume rewarding.
The opening · free to read
Up to February 16, 1581, the “Journal” of Montaigne’s travels was written down from dictation by a confidential servant, who seems to have combined the duties of secretary and valet. On the date aforesaid Montaigne either dismissed him or gave him leave of absence, and set to work to keep the diary himself. The portion of the “Journal” written by the secretary presents certain difficulties in translation, seeing that he wrote sometimes in the first and sometimes in the third person, and occasionally had to describe events which happened in his absence, but as far as possible uniform diction has been secured. In the earlier part Montaigne added divers notes to the margin of the MS. in his own handwriting, thus showing that he revised that portion which he did not write. From May 15, to November 1, 1581, Montaigne used the Italian tongue, reverting to French as soon as he crossed Mont Cenis.
A translation of the “Journal” was made by W. Hazlitt in 1842 and annexed to his edition of Cotton’s “Essays.” In a recent reprint of the “Essays” and of all the extant “Letters,” Mr. W. C. Hazlitt, in an introduction, remarks, as a reason for not including the “Journal,” that it is all in the third person, and was dictated by Montaigne to his secretary, being unaware, apparently, that more than half of it was written in the first person by Montaigne himself.
The portions of the “Journal” which deal with Montaigne’s sojourn at the baths of Lucca are full of details of the symptoms of the malady which troubled him, and of the results of the curative treatment. In these it has been thought permissible to abbreviate some passages and to omit others entirely, seeing that they are at the same time valueless and unpleasant. But not a word which refers to any matter of general interest has been repressed; uninteresting medical details alone have been left out.
W. G. WATERS.
August 1903.
The book keeps going
Reading is free forever. Sign up and watch scenes appear while you read.
Scenes Storieta drew for other classics.
New illustrated classics
Once or twice a month: the latest books to get full character casts, scene art, and free comic editions. No account needed.
