ABSTRACT
The ‘Apologie’ is the most lengthy and, in many ways, the most difficult of the essays - although, perhaps, not the most exciting. It is crucial for understanding Montaigne’s meditations on religion, on the concept of reason and the way man decides, reaches or does not reach knowledge of anything. Many critics accept that he was a Catholic in the sense that people can be today: they accept that God exists, that Christ was sent to earth and that there are ceremonies laid down by the church such as the last confession which they will receive. The ideology connected with fideism is present throughout the ‘Apologie’. The denial of truth to Christianity on the metaphysical level is countered by the denial of ethical value in Christians. In addition, his interest in comparative religion is strong, and there is a veiled attack on Christianity and on values that man takes for granted.
