# Michel de Montaigne — Representative Men character guide

> Michel de Montaigne in Representative Men by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Montaigne, our Saint Michel de Montaigne

**First appearance:** 0004-iv-montaigne-or-the-skeptic

## Snapshot

The essayist who answers questions no contemporary thought to ask, a wise soul who conveys his quality to other men with no more exertion than a beautiful face paints its image on our eyes.

## Who they are

Emerson treats Montaigne as one of those rare persons who, in their character and actions, answer questions we have not skill to put — a man who inhabits a higher sphere of thought and sees things in true light and large relations. His service is indirect: he is great because he is what he is from nature, and never reminds us of others, satisfying expectation and falling into place. He matters because he represents the skeptic type, showing how a man in his place is constructive, fertile, and magnetic, making his own channels like a river making its shores.

## In the story

### [IV: Montaigne; or, the Skeptic](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/representative_men_se/chapters/iv-montaigne-or-the-skeptic)

Presented as the representative skeptic; his life, character, and writings are examined in detail, including his retirement, his honesty, and his love for Socrates.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/representative_men_se/characters/montaigne
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/representative_men_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/representative_men_se/characters