Travelling to compare customs
Read the Travel Journal as a field record of customs, religion and illness that feeds the later Essays.
An original introduction. This guide accompanies the work; it is neither the complete text nor a translation.
Situating the text
A secretary wrote the first part in the third person; Montaigne then continued it himself, partly in Italian. Never intended for print, the manuscript was found at the château around 1770 and published in 1774, after which it was lost, so modern editions depend largely on that printing. The journal follows Montaigne’s journey of 1580 and 1581 through eastern France, Switzerland, southern Germany and Italy, with long stays in Rome and at the baths near Lucca. It records roads, inns, churches, religious disputes, local customs and the course of his kidney stones in close, unliterary detail.
Following the arguments
Comparing customs : Montaigne notes how meals, beds, stoves, worship and dress vary from town to town, treating difference as something to observe rather than condemn. Religion in practice : He talks with Protestant ministers in Switzerland and Germany, watches ceremonies in Rome and records the censors’ remarks on his Essays. Body and illness : Daily notes on the waters, diets and passing of stones show a patient testing remedies against his own experience.
Continuing the reading
Read the Rome section and the stay at the baths of La Villa, then compare them with the essay Of Experience; remember that the journal was a private record, not a finished book. A secretary wrote the first part in the third person; Montaigne then continued it himself, partly in Italian. Never intended for print, the manuscript was found at the château around 1770 and published in 1774, after which it was lost, so modern editions depend largely on that printing.
Travel gave Montaigne first-hand evidence that custom varies and that experience must be weighed case by case.
Your turn to think.
- Which local customs does Montaigne describe without judging them, and where does he allow himself a verdict?
- How do the notes on his illness prepare the reflections of Of Experience?
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