Apology for Raymond Sebond

Why it’s on the list: The longest chapter of Montaigne’s Essais, where a nominal defence of a theologian who thought reason could prove Christianity becomes a demolition of reason itself — the senses deceive, the philosophers contradict each other, and faith is what is left. It became the founding text of early modern scepticism.

Where I heard about it

• University of Austin — assigned in Renaissance and Reformation, opposite Erasmus’s The Praise of Folly, on its Fall 2025 reading list, November 2025. Full curriculum: UATX Fall Reading List.

About this edition

The Apology is Book II, chapter 12 of the Essais, first published in 1580; it circulates standalone only in modern editions. It is where Montaigne’s motto Que sais-je? — what do I know? — does its real work.

Connections

• UATX Fall Reading List — the curriculum this is assigned in.
• The Praise of Folly — the other Renaissance and Reformation text in this shard; the two sit opposite each other on the syllabus.
• Renaissance · Humanism — the movement, and the moment it turns sceptical about itself.
• Christianity — the question at issue is whether reason can reach the faith.