Stefan Zweig, MONTAIGNE
Quoted:
"Only he whose soul is in turmoil, forced to live in an epoch where war, violence, and ideological tyranny threaten the life of every individual, and the most precious substance in that life, the freedom of the soul, can know how much courage, sincerity, and resolve are required to remain faithful to his inner self in these times of the herd's rampancy." - p.37
"He knew only too well the colossal task represented by this simple idea: to safeguard one's independence at the core of oneself." - p. 50
"Despite all his sagacity, Montaigne suffered something of an unsavoury infatuation with the nobility..." - p.62
"'What use is it to have a bellyfull of meat, if one cannot digest it, if it cannot transform us, if it cannot improve us and fortify us?'" - p. 72
“The great lesson Montaigne receives from books is that reading, in its rich diversity, sharpens his faculty of judgement. It impels him to respond, to lend his own counsel.” - p.95
“He must be forever searching. Thus is born a multitude of contradictions. Now he appears an Epicurean, now a Stoic, now a sceptic. He is at one and the same time all and nothing, always different and yet ever the same...” - p. 101
“The true essence of freedom is that it can never restrict the freedom of another.” - p. 109
”It is sheer falsehood and criminality to want to enclose the diversity of the world in doctrines and systems, falsehood to turn men away from their own unfettered judgement, from their own will, and to impose on them something which lies outside them.” - p. 114