Notes on the uses of the word “fortune” in the Essays
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11606/issn.1517-0128.v45i2p91-101Keywords:
Fortune, Censorship, Montaigne's Essays, Renaissance PhilosophyAbstract
The present article aims to discuss some important aspects concerning Montaigne’s uses of the term “fortune” in his Essays. This term, of pagan origin and widely employed during the Renaissance, recurs frequently throughout the work, so much so that it attracted the attention of the censors of the Roman Inquisition, whose recommendations Montaigne refused to follow. However, more than a mere authorial preference, the use of the word fortune appears to be closely linked to a deliberate project of conducting an essentially secular and worldly inquiry, one that deliberately distances itself from theological and dogmatic concerns in general. Thus, the purpose of this article is to demonstrate that Montaigne’s terminological choice, as well as his refusal to comply with the Roman censors’ recommendations, are not arbitrary attitudes. On the contrary, they are grounded in a specific philosophical project.
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