ABSTRACT
Montaigne returns to justice in this denigration of man’s intellect. As part of his attack on intellectual deduction Montaigne uses personal experience to denounce medicine. The theme of old age takes on rather a different turn in the marginalia of 1588–92: the attitude is, sometimes, less that of a wise man than that of a slightly bitter man. Illness, the disease of the gall bladder, and old age play a rich and final role in showing us the positive points about life in ‘De lexperience’. Montaigne realizes that he appreciates life better if he treats his body and mind well. Virtue is now for Montaigne a harmonious system of impulses, balanced by adaptability, order, moderation and consistency.
