From the Perspective of the Self: Montaigne's Self-Portrait.

Unlike some studies of the Renaissance essayist, Brush's reading of Montaigne puts the reader very much at ease. It is almost like listening to a friend talking about a friend ("O un amy!", as Montaigne put it). As with any close friendship or longstanding relationship (in this case, Brush's critically tested, intimate acquaintance with Montaigne), the writer's shortcomings are duly noted (as indeed Montaigne had recognized himself, if "shortcomings" is really the right word here, i.e., observations like "it seems clear to me that at some point the critic must draw the line and admit that the essayist holds contradictory opinions" [100]). But these very personal writerly and human values are especially what Brush is so good at identifying and discussing. His study of Montaigne succeeds precisely because it does not owe itself to any overpowering or all consuming critical theory. As Brush points out, the "more recent schools of criticism" and "the most theoretically inclined critics of today [cast aside] references to a work's author or his life" and foster a much prized "distance between work and creator" (23) - critical views surely antithetical to reading or at least to understanding Montaigne. Rather, Brush's is a close and expert textual exegesis that follows the complex contours of Montaigne's "mind in motion," and "irregular rhythms of thought," thus superbly delineating the configurations of his literary self-portrait.

In this principal project of self-portrayal, Montaigne's desire was "to convey personality through the use of words," which to Brush is the most "fascinating" aspect of Montaigne (8-9). The Essays abound in recognitions of this purpose: "It is myself that I portray"; "Thus, reader, I am myself the matter of my book"; "Everyone recognizes me in my book, and my book in me"; and so forth. Such portraiture depended on "introspection, memory, and the study of mankind in general" (21). Through his self-portrait, Montaigne acquired a meaningful and most singular understanding of what can be termed "rules of living," which for him amounted to rules of writing, rules whose genesis, formulation and consistency Brush is especially interested in. Rule: "Skepticism is not a passing phenomenon in Montaigne's spirit. From the beginning of his career to its end, we find the essayist championing skeptical ways of thinking: resolutely opposing dogmatism, denouncing the pretensions of human reason, recording assiduously its follies . . . deflating the human self-importance that regularly vaunts the prowess of our rationality" (86). Brush's chapter on Montaigne's skepticism (85-102) is especially insightful. We are shown how Montaigne's "most skeptical chapters are also his most religious ones [and also the locus for his "political conservatism"], difficult as that may be for many modern minds to understand" (100). Rule: There are three, not two, major voices in the Essays: the voice of the moraliste, focused on "mankind in general"; that of the portraitist with his topic "Michel de Montaigne, an individual man"; and the voice of the "essayer," "whose topic is his own book, its aims, its method of inquiry, and its production." In fact, "the moraliste and the portraitist are fused into the complex figure of the essayist" (119-20, 124). Rule: Montaigne "manages to make his essays sound like a person, not like a book" (149). The chapter "Making It Personal" (149-72) is extremely informative and rewarding for Montaigne's "conversational" art. Note this observation: "Though highly capable of finding ways to speak of himself by indirection, [Montaigne] does not hesitate to speak of himself directly; indeed, he goes out of his way to assert his personality at every point - like a painter who, having portrayed himself, sticks his head through the canvas to be sure he is not overlooked" (163). Rule: "Montaigne insists that reading within the book of our self provides far more vivid lessons than reading in Aristotle"; therefore, "Montaigne's morality resides in intellectual accomplishments. Living well is a matter of knowing well - more specifically, knowing oneself" (180-82). Rule: Montaigne's "wisdom" is to be found in "his dramatic discovery of the high drama to be found in everyday life" (204, i.e., "When I dance, I dance; and when I sleep, I sleep"). Rule: The writing of his self-portrait gave Montaigne "very real pleasure." It "provided him with many enjoyable hours, filled with a pleasure entirely self-sufficient" (263).

To be sure, many more "rules" or examples of Montaigne's "wisdom" and art await the reader of Brush reading Montaigne. For this reader, Brush captures perfectly both the substance and the spirit of Montaigne's self-portrait, that is, the essence of the Essays themselves. Brush's study of the consubstantiality of "Montaigne the book" and "the book Montaigne" will continue to intrigue readers well into the years to come.

JERRY C. NASH University of North Texas