tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146709882273582485.post3504092150589429295..comments2024-03-12T01:58:10.531-04:00Comments on Parvum Opus: Treasured Books No. 3: Michel de MontaigneParvum Opushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15464815622667738686noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146709882273582485.post-65261963150228201842013-08-06T13:27:08.825-04:002013-08-06T13:27:08.825-04:00Hello Loi! Thank you for your comment-- I'm in...Hello Loi! Thank you for your comment-- I'm intrigued by your own book collection! Perhaps the subject for a future post?! I's love to hear more about the illuminations, too... <br /><br />Warm regards, <br />ErikaParvum Opushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464815622667738686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146709882273582485.post-43055370182017979512013-07-31T13:59:13.324-04:002013-07-31T13:59:13.324-04:00Hello, Erika -
Thank you for featuring this 1880 4...Hello, Erika -<br />Thank you for featuring this 1880 4 volume set from your library. Sounds absolutely divine! The next time I attend an antiquarian book fair, I will be sure to ask about this set. I trade in 17th - early 19th century European vellum bound bibles and books of revelations. And a few illuminated manuscripts. <br />Cheers,<br />Loi Woodside Parkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13981644571968878448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146709882273582485.post-27009775632161457262013-07-29T13:46:52.553-04:002013-07-29T13:46:52.553-04:00Dear Mark,
I don't know if it's my 'a...Dear Mark, <br />I don't know if it's my 'artist's temperament', or just plain anti-social tendencies, but I've always looked at Montaigne's self-imposed retirement with a bit of awe and envy! Just imagine the freedom to be surrounded by your favorite books, with no pesky social duties to perform... It sounds wonderful to me, with so many imposed duties pulling me away from the work and people I care about the most... I hope that doesn't make me sound horrible! His writings, often so funny and carefree, don't seem to be the work of a depressed hermit; they seem more like the product of someone just selfish enough to devote his full attention to the work he really wanted to do... I'm so glad he did! I'm intrigued by your comment about the ivory tower- perhaps more investigation is in order!<br />Warm regards, <br />ErikaParvum Opushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464815622667738686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146709882273582485.post-67202890826232873892013-07-29T13:31:01.463-04:002013-07-29T13:31:01.463-04:00Dear Rosemary,
Thank you for your comment. I'...Dear Rosemary, <br />Thank you for your comment. I'm so pleased that you enjoyed rekindling your interest in Montaigne. I think it would be fantastic to read Montaigne in that tower, in situ. Can you imagine?! I'm sure when I finally make it there, the guards or docents will be very annoyed with me for staying too long...!<br />Warm regards, <br />ErikaParvum Opushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464815622667738686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146709882273582485.post-21145316979450702702013-07-29T13:21:53.492-04:002013-07-29T13:21:53.492-04:00Dear Jim,
Thank you for your message. I also enjo...Dear Jim, <br />Thank you for your message. I also enjoy personal essays, with Montaigne at the top of a list including Hazlitt, Lamb, and Anne and Clifton Fadiman. It's funny, I seem to have trouble connecting with current writing as well-- perhaps there is just so much being written that it's difficult to sift through it all to the really good stuff... perhaps it's that our contemporary culture doesn't allow or rewards the time/reflection/erudition necessary for writing like Montaigne's... In any case, thank goodness we have these treasures-- enough for a lifetime, surely!<br />Warm regards, <br />ErikaParvum Opushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464815622667738686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146709882273582485.post-59562533565236041372013-07-29T09:36:53.146-04:002013-07-29T09:36:53.146-04:00Dear Erika,
I have always been intrigued by Monta...Dear Erika,<br /><br />I have always been intrigued by Montaigne's early retirement to his tower, and wondered what that tower might have looked like. My mwntal image was of something completely isolated from any other architecture because I suppose I imagined a more reclusive life than Montaigne probably actually had. But I do note that the tower is ivory-colored — perhaps that is the origin of the term.<br /><br />Best wishes, MarkMark D. Ruffnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09241533547309049140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146709882273582485.post-18672962413887501192013-07-29T03:50:14.648-04:002013-07-29T03:50:14.648-04:00Dear Erica - a big regret of mine is that we did n...Dear Erica - a big regret of mine is that we did not visit Montaigne's library tower whilst staying near to St. Émilion - his ivory tower - a place where suffering from melancholy he retreated to write his essays.<br />The quotation that rings true for me is the one you mention from Essays, Book II, Ch. 2, Of Repentance <br />Two gems I like are "The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself." Book 1 Ch. 39.<br />"When I play with my cat, who knows if I am not a pastime to her more than she is to me?" Book 11 Ch. 12<br />Not only is Montaigne entertaining, and very readable, but so is your post for reawakening my lost interest in him. <br />Rosemaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814070177137076757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5146709882273582485.post-50303508023174488852013-07-29T00:11:42.153-04:002013-07-29T00:11:42.153-04:00Hello Erica, Essays are perhaps my favorite form ...Hello Erica, Essays are perhaps my favorite form of literature, because of their intimacy, the direct connection they give to the mindset and mental acuities of the author. <br /><br />Your quote of Montaigne's admonishment "turn his eye upward toward past ages and his pride will be abated" resonated with me because just today I was noting that although I have read several authors lately who were clever and had some point to say, when I started reading an old volume of Christopher Morley essays, it was like a breath of fresh air, everything deftly well-put and clearly the product of a far-reaching mind, yet written with a light touch.<br />--Road to Parnassus Parnassushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08958901307538141468noreply@blogger.com