ABSTRACT
Homosexuality might initially seem to be of no more than peripheral concern in the writings of Montaigne. We shall see, however, that it forms an important aspect of the essayist’s thinking in relation to two crucial areas: first, the subject of friendship, marriage, and the whole gamut of human affective, social, and sexual relationships, and, secondly, philosophical scepticism. The essays that will be of particular interest are, in the first case, I, 28 and III, 5 and, in the second case, I, 23 and II, 12. In all our analyses, we will pay careful attention to the numerous additions and changes made to the text of the essays over the years, since these bear witness to the evolution of Montaigne’s thought and to his continued engagement with the question of sexual relations between men. In addition to this rereading and revising of the essayist by himself, we will also examine his reading and reuse of a number of classical writers, notably Plutarch, Sextus Empiricus, Plato, and Aristotle.
