Book 5, Letters: Chapter 16 Summary and Analysis

Montaigne describes further differentiations of the waters while en route back to Rome. Some waters are for drinking, others are only used as baths. One can readily see why it makes sense to not mix the two types of waters by considering hopefully that the tap water is somehow kept apart from the water in the toilets, at least in general and in spite of the extensive and profound powers of the sewage and other water treatment plants associated with modern cities, and well waters were those are also relevant. Cleanliness is a relevant concern both in Montaigne's era and in the present day. Montaigne writes briefly about how impressive Roman ceramics are, and how he is finding it preferable to drink from ceramics than to eat off of French pewter. Readers may be shocked when they...