I enjoyed this reread a lot more than the first time through. There were some points where he takes tangents and side roads which left me at times bored at other times frustrated. Yet the author is well aware of this tendency and warns the reader that it will happen from time to time, so I don’t really have anyone to blame but myself. There were so many parts of this book where it would feel as if I was reading my own journal, had I been a better writer. Several overlapping points of personality made a lot of his views relatable. I very much liked his humble approach to knowledge and latitude when it came to accepting other’s customs. His love for life as it is, not in concept but in embodied reality was refreshing. Everything in moderation, this goes for thought as well as action. I am sure the older I get, the more I will appreciate and understand from this humorous and likeable man.
**August 2019 Review **
Premise : A French dude writes a selection of short essays about his ideas. Each essay is set on a theme. He brings up some points that are surprisingly applicable considering they were written in the 1500s. My personal favorite if you were to choose a single essay would be his thoughts on customs and how they are pretty much the only reason anyone thinks are does anything. A little difficult to get through due to the large amounts of quotes from classical authors but contains some nuggets of wisdom that are worth the effort.