One Man’s Profit Is Another’s Loss



One Man’s Profit Is Another’s Loss

Michel de Montaigne

Directions: Read the short passage in the Norton Reader. Answer all questions in complete sentences in pen.

This short essay by one of the founders of the genre reveals the essay’s origins as a means for contemplating the pragmatic implications of philosophical ideas. The word “essay” comes from the French word “essayer,” to try.” Think about what Montaigne is trying or attempting to do.

1. In each paragraph Montaigne uses a quotation or paraphrase from a classical authority. Why does he use each – to disagree with, to support, or otherwise to amplify his argument? Explain.

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2. In paragraph 2 Montaigne writes “let anyone search his heart and he will find that our inward wishes are for the most part born and nourished at the expense of others.” Do you agree? Cite evidence from your own experience to defend your view.

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3. What is the analogy in the last paragraph? Is it apt? Are there differences between the gains and losses of nature and those of the business world? (Answer all three questions).

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4. Compare the proverbs that begin and end the essay (turn the page for the ending proverb). What is the difference between them? What does that difference reveal about where Montaigne stands at the essay’s conclusion?

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