The Montaignean Epiphany

Some time around the year 1580 C.E., Montaigne's writing project--the project of "essaying" himself--bore unexpected fruit: he decided that he had to stop looking to others for guidance and, instead, build his own Golgonooza (Murid House). Looking back on what he had written to that point, it occurred to him that, in fact, building his own Golgonooza is what he had been up to from the start. Its magnificent structure stood in the pages of his book: brick upon word-worn brick.