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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. In Travel Journal: Chapter 13, Montaigne describes a priest who speaks what out-of-place language as part of his services?
2. Montaigne says that the Roman dishes are superior to French dishes made of what?
3. Book 3 of Essays contains how many essays?
4. What scholar is quoted in the opening of Book 2 of Essays: Essay #1?
5. Montaigne writes that a wife should treat her husband as if he were what?
Short Essay Questions
1. What does Montaigne admit about himself?
2. What does Montaigne say about truth?
3. According to the note at the beginning of Book 3 of Essays: Chapter 12, why is the editor interested in Montaigne's travel journals?
4. What was St. George noted for?
5. Why does Montaigne believe that women know more about love?
6. What does Montaigne say about the differences in the desires of men and women?
7. Why does Montaigne admire Cato?
8. What are some of the powers that Roman baths are reputed to have?
9. What disappointed Montaigne in Rome?
10. What did the notorious criminal Catena once force two men to do before he killed them?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
When Montaigne was mayor of Bordeaux, the city was struck by the bubonic plague, killing about half of its citizens. This plague was a major scourge of medieval Europe, and the suffering that it caused in Bordeaux was a major mark against his administration.
1) Explain the significance of the bubonic plague in medieval Europe. How common and deadly were typical outbreaks, according to Montaigne?
2) Discuss some of the common countermeasures used to combat the plague's effects and its spread. What did Montaigne do to slow its progress in Bordeaux?
3) Describe the impact that the outbreak of plague in Bordeaux had on Montaigne's life, his outlook, attitudes, and writings.
Essay Topic 2
Montaigne believes in the reality of objective truth, ideas that exist in a perfect state, without the need for human interpretation. He believes that although he, and all other humans, are imperfect interpreters of these truths, they cannot be diminished or tarnished in any way by human failings.
1) Discuss the concept of truth that Montaigne articulates in his essays. How are truths understood and derived, and where do they come from? How do human beings interact with the truth?
2) Montaigne suggests that he may contradict himself from time to time. Discuss one example of this, and describe how Montaigne might explain his mistake. How would he justify the perfection of the truth he was attempting to express in the face of this contradiction?
3) Discuss the importance of the concept of objective truth in some of Montaigne's other philosophies. How does it relate to these other ideas, and how are his arguments bolstered by a reliance on objective truth?
Essay Topic 3
"The Apology of Reymond Sebond", a major work in the medieval era, was of great interest to Montaigne, who translated a copy of it into French. He believed that the arguments is contained were of great importance to both Christians and non-Christians.
1) Discuss, in general, the content of Reymond Sebond's work, and describe its place in the intellectual discourse in Montaigne's time.
2) Describe some of the reasons that Montaigne regarded Sebond's work as being particularly important and influential.
3) Summarize the major points that Montaigne makes about this work, and any of the major weaknesses that he identifies.
4) Asses, overall, how meaningful and important Sebond's work was in its era.
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This section contains 806 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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