> The most striking things to me when I started reading the Essays, is how much it reads like... A blog. This is somewhat deceptive. The Essais were very perso

> The most striking things to me when I started reading the Essays, is how much it reads like... A blog. This is somewhat deceptive. The Essais were very personal, but not spontaneous at all. He spent a lot of time polishing them and rewriting them right until he died. Just like Rabelais, the apparent casual tone of the language is actually quite a lot of work. In comparison, blog posts are quick to post and then just left as they are. They are closer to letters in that respect.