Chesterton - "A Piece of Chalk" and Montaigne "Of Books"

Chesterton - A Piece of Chalk
The intro to Chesterton really hit the nail on the head. He is very fun and very light to read. However, as the intro said, along the way some of his comments on religion tend to grate a bit (i.e. "blind old gods that men worshipped before the dawn of right"). That being said, the whole story of how he discovered the enormous piece of white chalk beneath him bounces and flows so nicely that I read it again right after I was done. He also reminds me of myself in the second paragraph when he explains the importance of brown paper to the woman in the kitchen. It seems like I'm always doing things like that. Also, I wanted to mention that I enjoyed all of his talk of color, especially the cow's soul. Very fun piece.

Montaigne - Of Books
Again, the intro to Montaigne describes him to a T. It was good to read that the first language his father had him learn was Latin; this essay might not be as understandable without that piece of information. I found at times that the jewels of Montaigne are hidden in the center of his paragraphs, which makes it hard to pick up the good bits without reading the whole thing. And then I realized that the whole piece is like that. He is a very good link to the ancient world of Rome, able to read between the lines and accurately get at the personality of whoever it is he is examining. And it is interesting to note that he has understood these authors so well (and then wrote about it) in the same way that I am now understanding him (and writing about it). Montaigne is an intellectual, and his work is full of references that most students in this day and age would not get, but he is truly human and very sincere. I really liked that bit where he wrote about how the most skilled clowns do not need to have makeup or silly faces in order to make people laugh. And when he talks about his preferred telling of history -- how he wants truth and accountability -- I wholeheartedly agree.