Book 5, Letters : Chapter 17 Summary and Analysis

There is an important note from the editor at the beginning of this final book of the collected writings. There is something very normal about at least one aspect of this situation. The majority of the author's letters have been lost through time. As he lived over 400 years ago, this is not particularly surprising. The letters have not all been translated by one individual. A man named WC Hazlitt is famous for having translated most of those known to remain in existence. The Letters book contains the 39 letters that have been successfully preserved. The very first letter is in fact quite a sad one. He writes about the legal murder by public execution of a man both Montaigne and the Provost of Paris knew. This is followed by a brief description of open warfare, and concludes with...