By Anne-Marie Sibireff and Annie Rouault of the Philosophy Workshop
A contemporary of the Wars of Religion and the bloody exploration of the newly discovered New World, Montaigne (1533–1592) spoke out against cruelty, injustice, a sense of superiority and excess. Education must therefore aim to ensure that young people ‘do not accept anything on mere authority or on trust’, but learn to judge everything for themselves. In opposition to a ‘gloomy and sullen wisdom’, Montaigne sets out to ‘spread joy and dispel sadness’ as far as possible. And he does so not by posing as a dogmatic preacher, but by living and writing. The Essays, a constantly reinterpreted account of his life, bear witness to the possibility of ‘living happily’.
In conjunction with the production *Montaigne* by the Comédie de Caen (Théâtre des Cordes, 12–16 October)
Teenagers and adults
Date
| On Sunday 11 October 2026 | |
| Sunday | Open from 16h to 17h30 |
