Philosophy underpinned by a kidney ailment?
Michel de Montaigne was quite a prolific essayist despite his kidney stones or was his painful condition the catalyst of his writings?
When does being unwell stop being an impediment? Too many questions, admittedly, a sign of weakness in prose and poor rhetoric anywhere else.
Seriously now, or "srsly" as some write nowadays, questions can be quite an effective way to jump start a monologue, and it rhymes with blog as well. Etymologists, beware, I know the two word' ending may sound similar, but they have different origins.
A chat with a philosophically-inclined friend included at some point a reference to Montaigne and how debilitating a toothache can be. First the pain and then its crushing ability to obliterate any high-level thinking.
Suppose that quite a few of us, bringing a vague cultural or literary reference to the table, feel a bit guilty afterwards and double-check they were not misquoting or worse, inventing.
I have not been able so far to identify the exact paragraph online, such a well-deserved punishment for avoiding to go back to the Essays in printed form. One of those frequent lazy moments.
I did learn something, though, digging in my most recent rabbit-hole. Montaigne himself was suffering from kidney stones and wrote about it, on top of writing in vast amounts, about life and human condition.
He did not battle illness, he tricked it.
If it is true, any creative endeavour could be the best painkiller and form of escapism, above and beyond reproach.
Montaigne would probably disagree, as he liked arguing with other people as a form of developing a shield against excessive sensitivity, sadness and other wasteful emotions.
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