New-York tribune., 1912-02-11

MICHEL DE MONTAlGNE. p' o7i r
Sichel. Illustrated. Svo' PIP IN -'-
7. Dutton & Co.
This book, combining olosrapny oi
e, subject with study or his "el'-
orschalung." will prove genuine de-
,igbt n the lover OF literature MISS
sichel has in her biography made adrol
uea Of the Essays" making Montalsne
roveal himself throughout In MS own
words, She marshals all the facts that
oro known Of his well-ordered, moderate
existence. so typical Of his race, and re-
trains from going too far aheld IN tlose
neriods Of it that research mas leIt
HANK. Boetie and his influence she
makes sympathetic as well as uiluel
standabe while her incidental sketch ol
,be essavists adopted daughter, Made
..,o,so,,o Marie le lars de Gournay, is well
come. She does not drop her with Mon
taigne's death and a discussion or the
measure of her editOrship or the rs
sove" but follows her to the end OF her
DAYS very muCn of a 'precieuse ridl-
cuIe " the butt of the coarse wit or Bal
zac Chapelain and Racan the tounuer
oF an academy that had no significance
or influence, an early defender OF tho
rights of women who failed 10 attrdCt
attention. 1t is a mistake, Miss Sichcl
saws 70 consider her as the herald of the
innovating Hotel de Rambouillet, Tor
however advanced her thought on polltl-
cal and religious questions. in the matter
of the French language, she was not an
innovator, but conservative, champion
ing the revival of old words and express
sions long disused. She wrote a novel
which was a failure, but some Of her
aphorisms are worth remembering. one
Of them, indeed, is not unworthy OF La
Rochefoucauld: "A wise man will some
times, may often, forgive folly; a foci
will never forgive wisdom
Montaigne, the discoverer of the essay
and the inventor of the name Of this
literary form, is of enduring interest.
The word is late. though the thing Is
ancient" said Bacon, the second Of the
great essayists. who borrowed both word
and form from him, but one may we'll
g.. ubt the truth of this dictum. The es-
say. as Montaigne made If. was unknown
before his time And 1t has remained
practically unchanged TO this day as he
perfected II in the famous tower Of his
countryseat Of Montaigne
Miss Sichel's analysis Of his philosophy
is an admirable piece Of work. Mon
tagne, she says. reveals himself in his
II
Frenchman, with all the gifts and the
limitations Of the genius Of his race:
His pellucid matter-of-factnoss, his crys-
tai conceptions his SkcpuCism born Of
irony and modcsty. his sunny materialism,
his Titanic common sense, brave, unwlnk-
ing, confident, his knowledge OF the road.
his Indifference TO the heavens. excepting
as they rained or ShOnc. caused him com
fort or discomfort. his fOrCible singing IN
sight, his Stoical humOr. hts austere good
taste. his width OF view for every day. his
| limited outlook on futurity, his acknowl-
edgmcnt Of the appetitcS ns legitimate
! sons OF the house, to be welcomed, even
| encouraged, as the means Of cheering life.
| his respect for facts before imaginative
/ truth-al these gifts and defects are the
! heritage OF France-of La Rochefoucauld,
/ of Voltaire, OF Anatole France, as we'll as
| Of Michel do Montaigne
! His one great limitation, Miss Sichel
continues-and here again she adds, he
was not least "A FTenchman-was his ig-
norance Of the power Of an idea. To die
| for one seemed TO him sheer madness.
THE statement sounds like a paradox in
| a country where the Terror itself was
| the debauch Of an idea, and where men
| have so often marched to ruin for the
sake OF a cause. But II we look closer, we
! shall see that their fall has generally
! come from ignorance Of the nature OF an
! idea, not from devotion to 1t. They do
not know that an idea is so big that men
cannot walk to the end Of Il: they do not
| know that its horizon must be mist
From Calvin and Pascal 10 Rousseau,