Montaigne retired to his tower library, surrounded by inscribed beams and his beloved books, and invented the essay as a form. He wrote about everything: death, cannibals, friendship, thumbs, lying. The essays loop and digress, following thought wherever it leads. Montaigne quotes the ancients constantly but uses them to examine himself. What do I know? The question underlies everything. The essays were revised through multiple editions; Montaigne never stopped adding to them. Shakespeare read them and borrowed. Every essayist since writes in Montaigne's shadow. He showed that a single mind, honestly explored, contains universes.