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Two of our editions of the Essays are currently searchable: HyperEssays’s contemporary English version (our ongoing translation + the Cotton / Hazlitt translation) and John Florio’s early modern English translation.

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The search target option, located below the Search the Essays box, sets which edition to search. Contemporary English is the default option.

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Some articles, conjunctions, prepositions, and adverbs have been removed from our index and return no results on their own. They are included when searching for phrases.

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A quote? These quotes in contexts might help.
When searching for a translated quote, keep in mind that words in the translation of the quote you are looking for might not be exactly the same as those in our editions. You can cast a wider net by using fewer words.

Biographical information on Montaigne? We wrote a short biography, along with a timeline of his life, that you might find helpful. If you need more, we recommend these four biographies.

One of Montaigne’s textual sources? This list of works quoted in the Essays probably has it.

Scholarship on the Essays? See our bibliography section! We update it regularly.

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