Montaigne, Lukrecjusz i Nowy Świat

Abstract

In this article, my aim is to interpret Michel de Montaigne’s essay On Coaches, firstly, as consistent, and secondly, as deeply marked by Lucretian ideas. I analyze three contexts in which the titular ‘coaches’ are present: luxury, war, and fear of death. Furthermore, I argue that they constitute mutually interacting ‘force fields’ that should be considered in relation to each other.Following this scheme, I reconstruct the relationship between this essay and De rerum natura on three levels: 1) a discussion involving the Lucretian idea of the finite and young world; 2) a specific repetition of Lucretius’ gesture: moral evaluation imposed on a basically neutral recognition of historical change and movement; 3) the connection of vehicles as symbols of luxury with the problem of the fear of death, or the lack of courage, as a source of moral degeneration.