#Michael de Montaigne

[remembertheplunge]

All is fleeting . all is ephemeral

August 16, 2014. Saturday 6:43am

“We do not know where death awaits us:

So, let us wait for it everywhere.

To practice death is to practice freedom.

A man who has learned how to die

has unlearned how to be a slave.”

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) from the book “Broken Open” p. 221.

Michel de Montaigne  also advised people to practice death. “Let us deprive death of its strangeness."

My 8/17/2014 margin note to the above was

 “We rent. Price tag patina. All is fleeting. All is ephemeral.”

(By “We rent” I meant, we occupy our bodies temporarily. 

“Price Tag Patina” is a term that I came up with to describe my practice of leaving the price tag on items I buy at yard sales and also on items that did not sell at two estate sales that I held after my partner’s death. That way, things are are ready for the estate sale when I die! It’s kind of a humorous and practical  affirmation that I will die.

End of entry

Note: 8/10/2024

I had just run into the above entries about death in my 2014 journal when I learned yesterday that Nancy Ashley had died of cancer July 29. I met her in the 90’s when she was a deputy District Attorney and I was a deputy Public Defender in Modesto, California. In 1996, she ran for Judge and won. I became friends with Nancy and her husband at that time Mike Cummins. He was also a deputy District Attorney and also became a judge. In 2013, I applied to be a judge and Nancy wrote a letter of recommendation for me . Although I was never appointed judge, her support meant a lot. I was the only out gay lawyer in town at the time. (Probably still am)

Over the years, I appeared in judge Ashley’s court in Department 6 of the Stanislaus County Court house many times. I found her to be gracious and fair as a judge.

She died at age 64, just shy of her 65th birthday . I'm about 4 years older than Nancy was. I got to thinking if I had died at age 64, what wouldn’t have happened. There would be no Remember The Plunge blog. This blog began a year and a half ago. I never would have begun open water swimming in the ocean. That started 2 years ago. I wouldn’t have been there to support my sister Zoe through her sudden illness and death about a year ago.

I never would have known the magic of reviewing my journals in preparation for a book based on them and now this blog. That stated about 4 years ago. And, I never would have experienced the gathering wonder of aging that came with men mid and late 60's

8/16/2014.  (I am now 69)

[psikolojikseanslar]

Bir amaca bağlanmayan ruh, yolunu kaybeder.

[zakholina]

Day 0007 of 1000.

[17 NOVEMBER 2022]

To compose our character is our duty, not to compose books, and to win, not battles and provinces, but order and tranquility in our conduct.

Our great and glorious masterpiece is to live appropriately.

All other things, ruling, hoarding, building, are only little appendages and props, at most.

Michael de Montaigne

[wayward-naiad]

[makeuphall]

[eurovision-facts]

Do you know if there ever was any ace or aro artist on Eurovision?

Eurovision Fact #372:

While there have been no asexual or aromantic Eurovision contestants, there have been many openly gay contestants and contestants who later came out as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Paul Oscar was the first openly gay Eurovision contestant. He performed for Iceland in 1997. The winner of that year's contest, Katrina and the Waves, also had their lead singer (Katrina Leskanich) come out many years later.

In 1998, Dana International made waves as she became the first trans contestant, and winner of the competition.

Israeli representative in 2002, Sarit Hadad, came out in 2021.

Representative of Bosnia & Herzegovina in 2004 and 2006 Deen has never come out explicitly, but openly posts about life with his boyfriend.

Winner of the 2007 contest, Marija Serifovic, came out as a lesbian in 2013 during the premiere of her film Confession.

Members of the group Blue -- who represented the UK in 2011 -- Duncan James and Lee Ryan have come out as gay and bisexual, respectfully. Ryan also admitted to sleeping with Duncan James often.

Winner of the 2012 contest, Loreen, came out as bisexual in 2017, stating that "love is where you find it."

Ireland's 2013 representative Ryan Dolan came out as gay the year following his Eurovision performance.

Thomas Neuwirth, otherwise known as winner of the 2014 contest Conchita Wurst, is openly gay.

In 2016, the Israeli representative Hovi Star was openly gay, and the Dutch representative, Douwe Bob, was bisexual.

Montenegro's 2017 representative Slavko Kalezić is openly gay.

In 2018, the Finnish representative Saara Alto was a lesbian, and Ukrainian representative Mélovin came out as bisexual in 2021.

In 2019 winner of the contest, Duncan Laurence, came out as bisexual at a Eurovision press conference. Additionally, France's contestant that year, Bilal Hassani, was queer. Moreover, member of the Norwegian band Keiino is openly gay. Finally, Italian contestant Mahmood has spoken out in support of LGBT rights, especially in Egypt, but does not like to label himself in any way.

Many of the contestants in the 2021 contest were members of the LGBT community: members of the Italian band Måneskin (winners of the 2021 contest) Victoria De Angelis and Ethan Torchio are openly bisexual and "sexually free" respectively. Australian representative Montaigne uses they/them pronouns and came out as bisexual. Spanish contestant Blas Cantó is also bisexual. Lesley Roy of Ireland is a lesbian. Vasil Garvanliev (North Macedonia), Jeangu Macrooy (Netherlands), and Jendrik Sigwart (Germany) are gay. Romania's Roxen is nonbinary, and member of the Icelandic group Daði og Gagnamagnið, Hulda, is pansexual.

2022 also saw a large number of LGBT contestants. Member of the Icelandic group Systur Elín is a genderfluid lesbian, and Michael Ben David of Israel and Sheldon Riley of Australia are both gay.

Finally, 2023 will also see many LGBT performers take the stage. Belgium's Gustaph and Serbia's Luke Black are gay, and Norway's Alessandra Mele is bisexual.

[Sources]

Please let me know if I missed anyone!

Eurovision: All LGBT Entries (1956-2022), YouTube.com.

INTERVIEW: Katrina Leskanich, Thegayuk, Archive.org (Archived).

Paul Oscar, Wikipedia.org.

Participants of Dublin 1997, Eurovision.tv.

Birmingham 1998, Eurovision.tv.

'Conchita Wurst: 'Most artists are sensitive and insecure people. I am too',' TheGuardian.com.

'Dutch Eurovision contestant Duncan Laurence comes out as bisexual,' gaytimes.co.uk.

'I Am A Lesbian! – Marija Serifovic Opens Up In Her Film “Confession”,' inserbia.info.

'Eurovision winner Loreen comes out as bisexual,' sbs.com.au.

'Sanremo 2021, i Maneskin si spogliano e parlano di libertà sessuale,' eg.zone, archive.org (archived).

"לא נגעו בי שנים כמו שבי נגעת": שרית חדד יוצאת מהארון וחושפת את בת זוגה, walla.co.il.

'Fuad Backović Deen s dečkom Willom Phearsonom na rođendanskoj zabavi,' avazi.ba.

'Deenov dečko na Instagramu: Svi osmijesi s mojom ljubavi,' klix.ba.

''Celebrity Big Brother' Star Lee Ryan Says He Sleeps With His Blue Bandmate Duncan James 'All The Time',' huffingtonpost.co.uk.

'Duncan James ‘proud to be gay’ as he reveals new boyfriend Rodrigo Reis,' Standard.co.uk.

'Eurovision star Ryan Dolan comes out as gay,' independent.ie.

'Israeli entrant to Eurovision says humiliated at Russian airport for being gay,' timesofisrael.com.

'Netherlands: Douwe Bob Comes Out As Bi,' Eurovoix.com.

'Slavko Kalezić,' Wikipedia.org.

'Saara Alto opens up about her sexuality as she poses in stunning new photo shoot,' thepinknews.com.

'Ukraine: “I showed my essence” – MELOVIN comes out, kisses a woman and a man on stage at Atlas Weekend festival,' wiwibloggs.com.

'Le youtubeur Bilal Hassani, idole queer des jeunes, représentera la France à l’Eurovision,' lemonde.fr.

'Congrats to “Tom Hugo” Married His Partner Today,' escbeat.com.

@ actualmontaigne on Twitter.

'it's me...' @ actualmontaigne on Twitter.

'Salir del armario para alcanzar la felicidad,' lavanguardia.com.

''I pushed being gay deep down inside me' - Eurovision hopeful Lesley Roy,' independent.ie.

'Eurovision's Vasil is ready to be a voice for LGBTQ people in North Macedonia and the Balkans, attitude, archive.org (archived).

'Jeangu Macrooy: 10 facts about the Netherlands’ Eurovision 2021 singer,' wiwibloggs.com.

'Jendrik Sigwart privat: Mit Freund Jan in Rotterdam? Das ist unser ESC-Kandidat 2021,' news.de.

'Eurovision star Roxen comes out as non-binary in powerfully frank chat with fans,' thepinknews.com.

'Iceland’s Eurovision entry warms queer hearts as singer Hulda waves pansexual flag during semi-final,' metro.co.uk.

'How a Eurovision star's song about coming out became a gay anthem,' yahoo.com.

'LGBTIQ+ artists at Eurovision 2022,' aussievision.net.

'Gustaph from Belgium: "My Eurovision performance will be very different",' eurovisionworld.com.

'Alessandra Mele: “My song was written especially for Eurovision”| Exclusive interview |,' Eurovisionfun.com.

'"JA SAM GEJ" Srpski predstavnik na Evroviziji Luke Black objavio snimak sa drugaricom jutjuberkom - UZBURKALI MREŽE (VIDEO),' blic.rs.

[msclaritea]

One-Sex Theory | Encyclopedia.com

"The term one-sex theory refers to the belief that there was only one sex and it was male. The theory originated in the writings of Aristotle and Galen; they had postulated a structural homology between the sexual organs of men and women whereby they were basically the same, except that those of men lay outside the body while those of women lay inside it and were, naturally, reversed: a vagina was a penis turned inside, the ovaries were the testicles, and so on. Similarly, bodily fluids (semen, blood, milk) were basically the same, being composed of the same fungible matter. The difference between men and women was not, therefore, one of kind (two different types of beings), but of degree (various types of the same being).

The theory postulated that, in the final stages of gestation immediately preceding birth, heat drove the sexual organs out of the fetus's body and created a man; should there not be enough heat, an incompletely formed male (that is, a female) would be born. According to this model, females were thus imperfectly formed males, with all the social and cultural consequences that followed, including exclusion from the highest ecclesiastical, political, or intellectual positions in their society, subservience and obedience to male kins, severe restrictions in legal and economic matters, and so forth.

that if, at puberty, sufficient heat were applied, a "girl" could force her sexual organs out of her body and become a "boy." In the sixteenth century, anecdotal accounts attesting to such transformations abound. One of the most famous is the case of Marie, a French shepherdess from Vitry-le-François who, at age fifteen, while chasing some pigs in the heat of the summer, jumped over a small creek and, landing heavily on the other side, so ruptured her ligaments that her sexual organs fell out and she instantly became a man, Germain, who then lived as a male for the rest of his life. The story is recounted by, among others, the physicians Jacques Ferrand and Amboise Paré, and the philosopher Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592). Other stories, such as the one told by a certain Antoine Loqueneux to Amatus Lusitanus (1511–1568), attribute the change to the "heat of passion"—a girl in bed with a chambermaid is so sexually aroused that she suddenly ejects a male member from her body and carries on life (and, one assumes, sexual activity) as a male.

In his groundbreaking volume Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud (1990), Thomas Laqueur highlights this theory and suggests that it was the fundamental operative model for understanding sex and sexuality not only in the Renaissance but even as far as the eighteenth century. A chorus of scholars (Katherine Park, Robert Nye, Michael Stolberg, and Donald Beecher, among others) have argued strongly against it, however, pointing out that already by 1600 the Aristotelian-Galenic one-sex model had been completely debunked and abandoned not only by European thinkers but, more importantly, by the medical profession itself. Its reaffirmation by Laqueur and others in the late twentieth century is, according to some, more grounded in contemporary theoretical battles than in the realities of Renaissance culture or science."

I can't believe people actually believed this and that it was around during the time of Shakespeare. There absolutely are some men in this world so in love with themselves, they want to actually erase women. What happened at John Hopkins is no accident. This idiotic theory has been around for hundreds of years, but has already been debunked. They've tried to bring it back, anyway.

[devosopmaandag]

Wat regen met genade van doen heeft

Na het lezen van de eerste helft van Michael Ignatieffs 'Troost'* kon ik een zekere ergernis niet onderdrukken. Bestaan er dan helemaal geen vrouwelijke denkers en schrijvers in de geschiedenis die hem troost hebben geboden?! Heb ik in pijnlijke tijden eigenlijk wel eens zuivere troost ondervonden? Ik twijfelde. Troost, wordt die niet net als geluk, pijn, verdriet, angst, verlangen en opwinding al bij de pasgeborene in de wieg gelegd? Het is misschien wel een van de allereerste affecten die een zuigeling ondergaat. Geworpen in een volkomen onbekende en koude wereld, schreeuwt de overweldigde nieuwe mens meteen haar schrik en honger uit. Daar is meteen al de eerste troost: de omhelzing van de moeder. Maar Ignatieff gaat het vooral om intellectuele, religieuze en artistieke vormen van troost en schetst deze via Job, Paulus, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, Boëthius, Dante, El Greco, Montaigne, David Hume enzovoort. Ja, er komt een klein handje vrouwen langs: de vrouw van Karl Marx in een bijrol, Anna Achmatova, die luttele bladzijden krijgt en er is een zelfstandig hoofdstuk over Cicely Saunders, de grondlegster van de hospice, waarmee na de pasgeborene met de stervende de cirkel rond is.

Ik dacht na over vrouwelijke schrijvers en denkers die mij mogelijk iets schonken wat in de buurt van troost komt. De stralendste ster is Clarice Lispector. In haar 'De ontdekking van de wereld' vond ik alles waarvan ik niet eens wist dat ik het zocht. In het laatste hoofdstuk van zijn boek wordt Ignatieff het meest persoonlijk en komt hij tot de conclusie dat vertroosting altijd een geschenk is, een vorm van genade die heel dicht bij een religieuze ervaring ligt. Lispector schreef over een moment van zuivere genade, zonder dat woord te noemen. Het is een passage die opgevat kan worden als troost voor ons arme mensen, die in dit leven vol willekeur geworpen zijn.

“Alleen dit: het regent en ik kijk naar de regen. Wat een eenvoud. Ik had nooit gedacht dat de wereld en ik ooit zo dicht bij elkaar zouden komen. De regen valt niet omdat hij mij nodig heeft en ik kijk niet naar de regen omdat ik hem nodig heb, maar we zijn zo samen als het water van de regen verbonden is met de regen. En ik bedank nergens voor. [–] De regen bedankt ook nergens voor. Ik ben niet iets wat dankbaar is omdat het iets anders is geworden. Ik ben een vrouw, ik ben een mens, ik ben aandacht, ik ben een lichaam dat uit het raam kijkt.”

* Troost – als licht in donkere tijden | Michael Ignatieff |vertaling Nannie de Nijs, Bik-Plasman en Pon Ruiter |2022| uitgeverij Cossee

[big-mawi]

Frases sobre la sabiduría

De filósofos y pensadores:

"La sabiduría es saber lo que no se sabe." - Sócrates

"El conocimiento es poder, pero la sabiduría es control." - Francis Bacon

"La sabiduría es la hija de la experiencia." - Roger Bacon

"La única verdadera sabiduría es en saber que no sabes nada." - Sócrates

"La sabiduría es el arte de vivir." - Platón

"El hombre sabio no busca el placer, sino la sabiduría." - Aristóteles

"La sabiduría reside en escuchar." - Epicteto

"La sabiduría es más valiosa que el oro." - Marco Tulio Cicerón

"La sabiduría es la única cosa que no se puede perder." - Séneca

"La sabiduría es la luz que ilumina el camino." - Santo Tomás de Aquino

De textos religiosos:

"Proverbios 9:10: El temor del Señor es el principio de la sabiduría." - Biblia

"Dhammapada 1:5: La mente es la líder suprema. Si la mente está pura, todo lo demás sigue." - Budismo

"Corán 2:269: Dios otorga sabiduría a quien Él quiere." - Islam

"Bhagavad Gita 4:38: En la serenidad de la mente se encuentra la sabiduría." - Hinduismo

De autores más recientes:

"La sabiduría es la capacidad de usar el conocimiento." - Francis Bacon

"La sabiduría es la mejor arma que puedes tener." - Nelson Mandela

"La sabiduría es el arte de no saber lo que no se sabe." - Michael Montaigne

"La sabiduría es la única cosa que se vuelve más dulce con la edad." - Lin Yutang

"La sabiduría es la capacidad de ver la vida tal como es, no como la deseamos que sea." - Jackal Nogaro

[curatedglobaltravel]

Romance Reimagined: Discover the World's Most Enchanting Getaways for Two

Nothing says love quite like a romantic getaway. As Valentine’s Day approaches, I handpicked a selection of swoon-worthy destinations tailored just for two — along with some incredible hotel bathtubs for an extra splash of magic. Reach out soon; I’ll help plan the gift of a lifetime.

MINIMOON MAGIC: DREAMY DESTINATIONS TAILORED FOR TWO

CITY RENDEZVOUS: THE MARK

At The Mark, all of New York City is at your fingertips to whisk away you and your loved one. This hotel features 150 guest rooms and suites, including several terrace suites. Ask me about the 10,000-square-foot, five-bedroom Penthouse with private rooftop access.

BEACH OASIS: AMANYARA

A secluded beachside resort, Amanyara is situated on the northwest coast of Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos, and couples feel the relaxing ambiance from the moment of arrival. Thirty-six timber-shingled guest pavilions and 20 villas are tucked along the coast and tranquil ponds.

WINE RETREAT: FOUR SEASONS RESORT AND RESIDENCES NAPA VALLEY

You and your partner will raise a glass to one another as you soak in magnificent views from this Four Seasons’ Napa retreat. Discover innovative cuisine at Michelin-starred Auro, holistic spa rituals at Spa Talisa and Four Seasons’ thoughtfully personalized, signature service.

MOUNTAIN HIDEOUT: THE LITTLE NELL

Aspen, Colorado, is the crossroads of wild mountain and vibrant city — a haven for romantic gondola rides, incredible spa experiences and candlelit dinners. Experience The Little Nell’s award-winning wine list with a private tasting or dinner, and meet one of many sommeliers on staff.

Request Details  ⟶

SUMPTUOUS SOAKS: INCREDIBLE HOTEL BATHTUBS

If you’ve ever dreamt of sipping a glass of champagne while taking a roomy bubble bath with your partner, I know just the place to give your Valentine’s getaway a splash. A beautiful bathroom view elevates the romantic experience even further, whether it’s a city skyline twinkling in the distance or the gentle crash of ocean waves. Some of my favorite trip-worthy tubs include those found at The Silo Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa; Qualia on Hamilton Island, Australia; Hotel de Crillon, a Rosewood Hotel, in Paris, France; Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California; and Coqui Coqui in Mérida, Mexico.

Request Details  ⟶

SPOTLIGHT ON: THE CITY OF LOVE Paris, France

STAY:Le Bristol Rosewood Crillon La Fantaisie George V Plaza Athenee Cour des Vosges Cheval Blanc Le Grand Mazarin JK Place Paris

SIP+ SAVOR:Chez L’Ami Louis Septime Chateaubriand Paul Bert Clamato Baratin Au Passage Chez Janou Allard

SHOP:Avenue des Champs-Élysées Avenue Montaigne Saint-Germain-des-Prés Galeries Lafayette Maison Labiche Buly 1803 Merci Haussmann Samaritaine Le Marais Neighborhood

SEE + DO:Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris Musée Rodin Musée du Louvre Pompidou Jardin des Tuileries Seine River yacht cruise La Cuisine Paris pastry-making experience Palace of Versailles (1-hour transfer)

MICHAEL SHANE STEPHENS Curated Global Travel An affiliate of Protravel michael@curatedglobaltravel.com 310.691.7461 curatedglobaltravel.com

Copyright © 2024 Global Travel Collection 1633 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

[edisonblog]

Hans Staden: The true story of the wild, naked and fierce man-eaters - 1548-1555

America is a vast land where many tribes of wild men live with many different languages. There are also many bizarre animals. This land has a friendly appearance, as the trees are green all year round, but the types of wood there are not comparable to ours. All men go naked, because in that part of the earth located between the tropics it is never as cold as, among us, on Saint Michael's day (…). Because of the strong sun, the inhabitants of the land have a reddish-brown skin color. They are a proud people, very cunning and always ready to pursue and devour their enemies. America stretches for a few hundred miles, both to the south and north. I have sailed 500 miles along the coast and been in many places, in one part of that land.

The discovery of the New World would give a radically new meaning to the barbarians, strangers to Greek civilization and language. The geography of navigation transposes barbarians into the figure of savages, associated with the enterprise of European conquest and domination. Anthropophagous, incapable, with cruel customs, the indigenous people were doomed to subjection by the colonizer. Visions more or less permeated by the survival of classics such as Ptolemy and renewed readings about the dangers of navigation or the discovery of transoceanic lands led to a series of reports and a somewhat fantastic iconographic production of both the natural environment and the inhabitants of America.

At the same time, the discoveries give rise to a true fury of knowledge about the indigenous people, in all their aspects – housing, customs, language, means of subsistence, among others – and give rise, above all, to a reflection that equally refers to the Europeans themselves, in contrast to the societies they face. Indigenous people were not always seen as outrageous or as deserving of metropolitan politics. The violence of colonization has been criticized since the 16th century, with examples being the work of Bartolomeu de Las Casas on Spanish explorers, as well as the writings of Michel de Montaigne, whose essays reverse the traditional relationship between civilized people and barbarians, stating that Europeans surpassed indigenous people in “all kinds of barbarism”.

In the 18th century, these texts were continually disseminated. Therefore, the image of free and rational inhabitants was constructed, contrasting with the European conquerors, in a clear allusion to the societies of the Old Regime, which were hierarchical, marked by censorship, religious oppression, and economic extortion by a parasitic nobility. The revaluation of so-called savage societies in the 18th century led to the use of new expressions: indigenous people and inhabitants, natives in English-speaking colonies, and even the term “nations”, recognizing complexity and organization in those cultures. But even among those who postulated the principles of equality and freedom, founded on the philosophical and anthropological program of the seventeenth century, the submission of the noble savage to illustrated pedagogy was implicit. In the 19th century, the Enlightenment tradition experienced the romantic ambivalence that introduced the “savage” into epic narratives and novelistic plots or into a scientific discourse that removed it from culture.

#edisonmariotti @edisonblog

.br

Hans Staden: A verdadeira história dos selvagens, nus e ferozes devoradores de homens - 1548-1555

A América é uma terra vasta onde vivem muitas tribos de homens selvagens com diversas línguas diferentes. Também há muitos animais bizarros. Essa terra tem uma aparência amistosa, visto que as árvores ficam verdes por todo o ano, mas os tipos de madeira que existem lá não são comparáveis com os nossos. Todos os homens andam nus, pois naquela parte da terra situada entre os trópicos nunca faz tanto frio quanto, entre nós, no dia de São Miguel (…). Por causa do sol forte, os habitantes da terra têm uma cor de pele marrom-avermelhada. Trata-se de um povo orgulhoso, muito astuto e sempre pronto a perseguir e devorar seus inimigos. A América estende-se por algumas centenas de milhas, tanto ao sul quanto ao norte. Já velejei 500 milhas ao longo da costa e estive em muitos lugares, numa parte daquela terra.

A descoberta do Novo Mundo emprestaria um sentido radicalmente novo aos bárbaros, estranhos à civilização e à língua gregas. A geografia das navegações transpõe os bárbaros para a figura dos selvagens, associados à empresa de conquista e dominação europeia. Antropófago, incapaz, de costumes cruéis, os indígenas estavam fadados à sujeição pelo colonizador. Visões mais ou menos impregnadas pela sobrevivência de clássicos como Ptolomeu e leituras renovadas sobre os perigos da navegação ou o descobrimento de terras transoceânicas levaram a uma série de relatos e a uma produção iconográfica algo fantástica quer do meio natural, quer dos habitantes da América.

Simultaneamente, as descobertas dão lugar a uma verdadeira fúria de conhecimento sobre os indígenas, em todos os seus aspectos – habitação, costumes, língua, meios de subsistência, entre outros – e ensejam, sobretudo, uma reflexão que igualmente se refere aos próprios europeus, em contraponto às sociedades com que se defrontam. Nem sempre os indígenas foram vistos de modo ultrajante ou como merecedores da política metropolitana. A violência da colonização foi criticada desde o século XVI, sendo exemplares a obra de Bartolomeu de Las Casas sobre os exploradores espanhóis, assim como os escritos de Michel de Montaigne, cujos ensaios revertem a relação tradicional entre civilizados e bárbaros, afirmando que os europeus ultrapassavam os indígenas em “toda espécie de barbárie”.

No século XVIII, esses textos são continuamente divulgados. Construía-se, portanto, a imagem dos habitantes livres e racionais que contrastavam com os conquistadores europeus, em clara alusão às sociedades do Antigo Regime, hierarquizadas, marcadas pela censura, pela opressão religiosa, a extorsão econômica de uma nobreza parasitária. A revalorização das sociedades ditas selvagens no século XVIII leva ao uso de novas expressões: indígenas e habitantes, nativos nas colônias de língua inglesa, e mesmo o termo “nações”, reconhecendo complexidade e organização naquelas culturas. Mas até entre aqueles que postulavam os princípios de igualdade e liberdade, fundados no programa filosófico e antropológico dos setecentos, estava implícita a submissão do bom selvagem à pedagogia ilustrada. A tradição iluminista conhece no século XIX a ambivalência romântica que introduz o “selvagem” em narrativas épicas e tramas romanescas ou em um discurso científico que o destitui da cultura.

[big-takeshi]

«Algunos, mejor nacidos que el resto, que sienten el peso del yugo y que no pueden evitar sacudírselo, que nunca se familiarizan con la sumisión aquellos a los que, dotados de juicio claro y de inteligencia lúcida, no les basta, como al burdo populacho, con mirar lo que tienen a los pies… quienes, provistos de suyo de una cabeza bien hecha, la han pulido además con el estudio y el saber. Éstos, aunque la libertad se pierda enteramente y quede por completo fuera del mundo, la imaginan y la sienten en su espíritu y continúan saboreándola» (La servidumbre voluntaria).

Michael de Montaigne.

[yorgunyazici]

Aslında insanlar seni hayal kırıklığına uğratmıyor. Sadece sen, yanlış insanlar üzerinde hayal kuruyorsun.

[uwmspeccoll]

Milestone Monday:

Joyeux Anniversaire M. Montaigne!

Today we honor the birth of French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, born on this day, the 28th of February in 1533. Not only was Montaigne one of the most significant figures of the French Renaissance, but he is also widely considered to have popularized the essay as a literary form, so you can thank (or curse) him for all those late nights facing down a deadline during your school years!

To celebrate this occasion, we present the Riverside Press edition of Essays of Michael, Lord of Montaigne, written by him in French and done into English by John Florio. This three-volume set was published by Houghton, Mifflin & Company of Boston and New York, and printed by Riverside Press in Cambridge, Mass. The volumes were published over three years between 1902 and 1904, with each volume limited to 265 copies.

The book was designed by lauded typographer and book designer Bruce Rogers. Rogers designed books for Riverside Press from 1895-1911, initially working on trade publications and designing advertisements for the Atlantic Monthly. From 1900 onward, Rogers led Riverside’s Department of Special Bookmaking, where he oversaw the design for the presses fine press output. It was for this edition that Rogers designed and cut his first typeface, a Venetian styled type appropriately named Montaigne.

Each volume features a different portrait on the frontispiece. Volume one contains a wood engraving of Montaigne based on a portrait by French engraver Thomas de Leu. Volume two features a portrait of the translator, John Florio, while the third volume showcases Marie de Gournay, the original editor and publisher or Montaigne’s work. The title page of the first volume bears the motto of Riverside Press: “tout bien ou rien” – do it well or not at all, as well as Montaigne’s famous skeptical remark, “Que sais-je?” – what do I know?  

-Olivia, Special Collections Graduate Intern

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Pouncival is having a Good Day.

2006 Dutch tour, Amsterdam 2007; cast below the cut.

Coricopat: Michael Macalintal Jemima: Cindy Belliot Pouncival: Joao Paulo de Almeida Skimbleshanks: Marcel Visscher Tantomile: Hannah van Meurs Tumblebrutus: Daymon Montaigne-Jones Victoria: Anique Bosch

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🏥❣️💉 “He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears.” ❣️🏥💉

- Michael de Montaigne