Montaigne, Translator of Raymond Sebond

Abstract Published in 1569, eleven years before the Essays came out, Natural Theology is the first printed work signed by the hand of Montaigne. It is not his own creation but a translation into French of a lengthy volume written in Latin around 1430 at the University of Toulouse by theologian Raymond Sebond. This translation was, for a long time, considered to be a simple stylistic exercise. Montaigne himself never professed to have done more than gain the satisfaction of succeeding at “cutting out and setting forth with [his] hand a French costume for the Spanish theologian and philosopher.” However, Montaigne’s patient study of Sebond’s thick volume was more than just an opportunity for his formal enrichment. Through questions regarding the way faith and reason engage with each other, the translator takes the first steps of a personal reflection on the human mind’s capacity to access the truth.