[Montaigne, his illness and his doctors].

Abstract

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), the great French humanist and inventor of the Essays, a central work in the world-literature, suffered from a severe hereditary kidney disease with stones, gravel and frequent colic. The illness is well and carefully described in the essays with valuable and detailed contributions from his experience as a patient, trying to humanize and accept the suffering. He experimented with quite a number of cures (hydrotherapies) during a long journey on horseback to Rome and back to Perigord. Fundamentally, he was in favour of leaving the treatment to the nature, and he had an aversion to the medical art, doctors and drugs. He was preoccupied with the death and in particular the so-called rational suicide, a revival from the antiquity. He died from his renal disease. Montaigne's inspiration for the following centuries and his literary importance today is briefly outlined, including his extraordinary experience as a patient. It is strongly recommended to read Montaigne and to learn from his wisdom.