Question

Read these lines from "Of Cannibals" and answer the question. . . . clever people observe more things and more curiously, but they interpret them; and to lend weight and conviction to their interpretation, they cannot help altering history a little. They never show you things as they are, but bend and disguise them according to the way they have seen them; and to give credence to their judgment and attract you to it, they are prone to add something to the matter, to stretch it out and amplify it.
Montaigne was known for his skepticism. In "Of Cannibals," Montaigne brings four kinds of evidence to bear on his argument, in part to satisfy his own skepticism and in part to write honestly to readers. In at least 150 words, identify and give examples from the essay of two types of this evidence. How does each type of evidence support his observations and claims?

Answer 1

The  skepticism is characterized by an atittude of doubting, questioning and/or not believing something or someone.

As we can see in “Of Cannibals”, Montaigned used skepticism to justify his arguments on his opinion about clever people. For instance:

1) “They never show you things as they are” – The author also said that clever people “cannot help altering history a little”, and then he says that they never show things as they really are; meaning that since he believes that clever people tend to change facts and information, the consequence of it is that their speech isn’t 100% honest. Therefore, he is skeptical when it comes to the true nature of those facts.

2) (...) And to give credence to their judgement and attract you to it, they are prone to add something to the matter, to strecht it out or amplify it”  – Now the author claims that clever people try to convince others by adding details or facts to what actually happened. He believes that once the fact is amplified, it gets more attention and credit. In this case, he is being skeptical in regards to judgements and opinions, suggesting that clever people aren’t really honest in their judgements as they want others to “buy their ideas” and because of it they will tell things in a way that will persuade people to do what they want and believe what they say.