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The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.

Michel de Montaigne, Of Solitude, Essays, 1580

Philosophy

The story behind the card

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) was a French nobleman and magistrate who, at 38, retired to his family estate near Bordeaux and spent years writing in the library of its tower. The result was the Essays, first published in 1580, which gave the essay its name: essai means 'attempt' or 'trial'. The line comes from 'Of Solitude', in the first book. Montaigne says we may have wives, children, goods and health, but should not tie our happiness to them so tightly that losing them tears us apart. Everyone, he advises, should keep a 'back shop' of the mind, a private room entirely their own, where they can be free and talk with themselves. Belonging to oneself, in this sense, means not being owned by possessions, ambition or other people's opinions. He later served two terms as mayor of Bordeaux.

Türkçe oku
Dünyadaki en büyük şey, kendi kendinin olmayı bilmektir.
Michel de Montaigne, Denemeler, “Yalnızlık Üzerine”, 1580

Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) Fransız bir soylu ve yargıçtı. 38 yaşında görevini bırakıp Bordeaux yakınlarındaki aile malikânesine çekildi ve yıllarını malikânenin kulesindeki kütüphanede yazarak geçirdi. Ortaya çıkan Denemeler ilk kez 1580'de yayımlandı ve deneme türüne adını verdi: Fransızca essai “deneme, sınama” demektir. Bu söz, birinci kitaptaki “Yalnızlık Üzerine” denemesindendir. Montaigne'e göre eşimiz, çocuklarımız, malımız ve sağlığımız olabilir; ama mutluluğumuzu onlara, kaybettiğimizde paramparça olacak kadar sıkı bağlamamalıyız. Herkes zihninde, dükkânın arkasındaki küçük oda gibi, tamamen kendine ait bir “arka oda” ayırmalı ve orada özgürce kendi kendisiyle konuşabilmelidir. Bu anlamda kendi kendinin olmak, mala mülke, hırsa ya da başkalarının ne düşündüğüne teslim olmamaktır. Montaigne sonradan iki dönem Bordeaux belediye başkanlığı da yaptı.

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