William Carew Hazlitt, The Essays of Montaigne — Preface (1877)
“ But, at the same time, estimating the value and rank of the essayist, we are not to leave out of the account the drawbacks and the circumstances of the period: the imperfect state of education, the comparative scarcity of books, and the limited opportunities of intellectual intercourse. ”
William Carew Hazlitt, The Essays of Montaigne — Preface (1877)
“ Montaigne freely borrowed of others, and he has found men willing to borrow of him as freely. We need not wonder at the reputation which he with seeming facility achieved. He was, without being aware of it, the leader of a new school in letters and morals. His book was different from all others which were at that date in the world. ”
William Carew Hazlitt, The Essays of Montaigne — Preface (1877)
“ This is true fame. A man of genius belongs to no period and no country. He speaks the language of nature, which is always everywhere the same.The text of these volumes is taken from the first edition of Cotton's version, printed in 3 vols. 8vo, 1685-6, and republished in 1693, 1700, 1711, 1738, and 1743, in the same number of volumes and the same size. In the earliest impression the errors of the press are corrected merely as far as page 240 of the first volume, and all the editions follow one another. ”
