Because it was him, because it was me

It happens that a single sentence may condense the essence of a work.

My reading of Montaigne’s Essais (1533–1592)—the subject of the next meetup—being still in progress, I cannot say which one it is. For the title, I have settled for the one I remembered, on his friendship with Étienne de La Boétie (1530–1563).

Since we are on the topic of key sentences, let us mention a few as a recap.

Touched on only marginally, two philosophical pillars between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment stand in opposition.

The first of these authors is René Descartes (1596–1650). Breaking with the dominant dogma—the scholastic tradition—his system rests on this keystone maxim: “cogito ergo sum” (“I think, therefore I am”). This does not make him an atheist, but rather a deist. His demonstration of the ontological argument, a.k.a Great Watchmaker, is deceptively simple.

The second author, Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), rivals Descartes as a scholar (the term “scientist” was not yet used), but differs radically in purpose: an apology of revealed Christianity. Voltaire calls him a “sublime misanthrope.” This can be read as a reference to his view of man as fallen through original sin, sublimated in the famous fragment from the Pensées:

> “Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed.”

A quote that has entered common usage illuminates his divergence from Descartes:

> “The heart has its reasons which reason does not know.”

Pascal’s wager could, however, be compared to Cartesian subjectivism, in that it shifts the focus from God to the believer.

It is above all Candide, a philosophical tale of Voltaire(1694–1778), that has dominated past meetups, which is entirely compatible with the marginal mention of the previously cited authors.

A key sentence is the motto of Pangloss, the tutor at the castle of Thunder-ten-Tronckh:

> “All is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.”

Taken as Candide’s philosophical baggage, this statement is tested throughout his travels—natural disasters, auto-da-fé, etc.—as a pretext to denounce religious wars, superstition, and so on.

Pangloss, embodying in a parodic way a famous metaphysician (another rationalist besides Descartes), also reflects, on Voltaire’s part, a saturation with the subject matter, which I myself felt when attempting to dive into it. However, Voltaire and his peers do not throw the baby out with the bathwater; otherwise, Descartes would not be considered a father of modern philosophy

Going further back into the Renaissance, we covered a poem titled “Comme un qui s’est perdu dans la forêt profonde” by Étienne Jodelle (1532–1573).

This author was a member of the Pléiade, a movement that elevated French (popular) over Latin (elitist). In form, it is a sonnet—an innovation imported from Italy. Melancholic, the poem plays on resonances—not just rhymes—between the verses. In content, it is generic:

> “Perdu long-temps l’objet, où plus mon [bon]heur se fonde”

Returning to the Essais, Book I, I propose that we review Chapters 1–25. Everyone is invited to prepare a contribution—dithering collectively would be fairer on me than doing it alone—including on other chapters if one feels so inclined.

As a suggestion, one might select a quote that captures the essence of a chapter and comment on it, or come up with a phrase that achieves the same effect. For example, the title of this event is an anaphora expressing a fusional friendship.

Transversal insights are also welcome: in the case considered, what ethos did La Boétie embody that Montaigne could not honor posthumously, and why?

Beyond that, I propose readings of two novels traversed by mimetic desire—apparently it's en vogue—Le Rouge et le Noir and Madame Bovary, in that order.

The original version, in French, contains references. It can be found at https://shorturl.at/EjAq3.

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The meetup will be held online, and conducted in French. Proficiency is expected. Contact me for the link.