Montaigne's Politics

Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 CHAPTER ONE: The Spirit of the Laws 26 CHAPTER TWO: In a Leaden Century: The Decline of Virtue 45 CHAPTER THREE: Freedom of Conscience: The Politics of Toleration 66 CHAPTER FOUR: Freedom of Conscience: Governing Opinion 85 CHAPTER FIVE: Turning the Tide: Trust and Legitimacy 104 CHAPTER SIX: Learning from Experience: Politics as Practice 122 CONCLUSION: Montaigne's Legacy 141 Notes 147 Bibliography 183 Index 203

Biancamaria Fontana is professor of the history of political ideas at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. Her books include "Rethinking the Politics of Commercial Society" and "Benjamin Constant and the Post-Revolutionary Mind".

"Drawing on the historical research of Geralde Nakam and others, [Fontana] illuminates the political dimension of the work by reading it against precise contexts... A more historically grounded political understanding of the Essais, and essential orientation for those who engage in even closer styles of reading."--Neil Kenny, Times Literary Supplement "Far from being politically detached, Montaigne served in his provincial parliament. His famed guardedness in writing derived from his practical and theoretical reflections upon the French civil wars of religion, unceasing throughout his mature life. The certainty of partisans and the confusion of authorities alike pointed him toward skepticism concerning all claims to rule. Fontana nonetheless defends Montaigne from suspicions of religious unbelief. Fontana equally defends Montaigne against charges of Machiavellianism, rightly considering him less openly audacious. Fontana prudently directs new readers of the Essais not to begin by thinking Montaigne Machiavellian."--W. Morrisey, Hillsdale College, for CHOICE "By enriching our knowledge of the political and historical background of the Essais, Fontana has made it easier to link what Montaigne has to say about his own particular time and place to his political philosophy which transcends that time and place."--Ann Hartle, Review of Politics "[Fontana's] reading of Montaigne, combined with the readability of her prose (a welcome thing in any scholarly work) and the brevity of her book (fewer than 150 pages, not counting notes) make this an effort one with only passing interest in the subject can read with both pleasure and profit."--Donald D. Wells, Sixteenth Century Journal "[Montaigne's] political theory and practice are skillfully dissected by Biancamaria Fontana in Montaigne's Politics... After reading this clear argument some scholars will have to change their minds. Good books always change minds. This is one. They also point up problems to consider