I am going to end up talking much more upon what Swift is saying in his essay than I am on what Montaigne is. I believe that Montaigne and his essays are very important, but I believe that his essays are easier to understand than it is to understand Swift's "A Modest Proposal." .
I believe that Montaigne wrote more for himself and saw that maybe others could learn from him. After reading the preface to the "Reader of Essays" section of the book, I believe that he was introducing his essays as his own personal reflections. It seems as if he wrote the essays as a way to vent on how he saw people as well as how he saw himself. It also seems that after he wrote down the harsh truths that he saw in humanity as well as in himself, as he saw it, he felt that his essays might be sources that other people could relate to and learn from. .
In his essay "Of Repentance" I do not believe that he was bragging about himself as it apparently seems he might be. I think that he is saying two things in his essay. First, I think that he is saying that people should not judge others or their works until they finally understand that person and/or their works. Secondly, I believe that he is trying to make the reader understand that, just as he may have been talking himself up and saying only good things about himself, so to do we tell ourselves that we and our beliefs our good. He makes this statement because by talking good about ourselves we are making ourselves feel good with out any way of failing ourselves. .
In his essay "Of the Inconsistency of Our Actions," I believe that we did not even have to read the whole essay to understand what he was trying to tell us. I think that he is saying one solid thing and that we only need to read his concluding statement to understand it. I believe that he is saying that we must get to know people and not only judge then on how they seem to be. He is saying that instead of judging people by their outside actions that we should find what is in their hearts and souls to be able to truly understand them.
