Author: BERNY VELIS

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592,) was the son of a wealthy family. He was one of the first French noblemen who divided his life between political activities and Philosophy retreats connecting philosophy to lived experience. I addition, Montaigne was a humanist and a philosopher who was considered the father of Modern Skepticism, doubting the truth of something. He popularized the essay, a short writing, where the author discusses his personal thoughts on a specific subject. The essay was considered a new literary genre that became very popular to this day. Montaigne was in front of the classical philosophical or moral work; he expresses how a man should behave based on his lifestyle and experiences, as opposed to the liberal ideas of the intellectuals at the time.

Christine de Pizan lived in historical social and cultural times. Her life took place at the French Court between 1363 throughout 1431. Her new life as a child began in the French court of Charles V when her parents moved from Venice to France. Her father, Tommaso de Pizano, was a Doctor of Medicine who, at that time, served in the royal court of Charles V. Christine at the age of 25, married, and lived a good life until her husband died. After his death, she did not have anyone to support her and lived in poverty. Soon she realized that to help her family, she must do something, and that’s when she started writing catching the attention of wealthy people. Among her books, she wrote “The City of Ladies” about women’s heroism. Christine became very successful in being the first female to defend women’s rights. In her book, she had the courage to break with the gender stereotypes prevalent at that time. Her ideas were compelling and are considered to be the first feminist in the Western world.

In the first nine of the thirteen Confessions books, Augustine describes his life conversion to Christianity. Augustine was born in Thagaste (modern South Ahras, Algeria,) the son of Patricius, a man of pagan belief and Monica, of Christian faith. In Augustine’s confessions to God, he admits all the sins that he committed during his youth before his conversion to Christianity. One of his regrets that made him feel guilty was the stealing of a pear from a tree for no reason because he was not hungry. It was just to show his bravery as a youth in front of his friends. He believed it was awful. Furthermore, Augustine believed that sex was a psychological necessity, as he struggled with the idea of ​​giving up his sexual desires since he was surrounded by mistresses and friends. At some point, Augustine believed that we are sinners from the day we are born, and everything that we do wrong in life is a sin.