--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Between Malraux, Balzac, and Montaigne, I…" description: "\"Between Malraux, Balzac, and Montaigne, I choose Montaigne. Montaigne will survive all the others, because the essay, meaning direct communication betw..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/gore-vidal-466_balzac_between-malraux-balzac-and-montaigne-i-c_2001636.jpg" --- # Between Malraux, Balzac, and Montaigne, I choose… ![“Between Malraux, Balzac, and Montaigne, I choose Montaigne. Montaigne will survive all the others, because the essay, meaning direct communication between the writer and his reader, will outlast the novel, by at least a thousand years.” quote by Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/gore-vidal-466_balzac_between-malraux-balzac-and-montaigne-i-c_2001636.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/gore-vidal-466_balzac_between-malraux-balzac-and-montaigne-i-c_2001636.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/gore-vidal-466_balzac_between-malraux-balzac-and-montaigne-i-c_2001636.jpg) > “Between Malraux, Balzac, and Montaigne, I choose Montaigne. Montaigne will survive all the others, because the essay, meaning direct communication between the writer and his reader, will outlast the novel, by at least a thousand years.” [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Montaigne believes the essay's direct writer will endure longer than the novel. **In simple terms:** Essays outlast novels. Key Takeaway Value personal,. Themes literature endurance communication Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary criticism - education - publishing - self‑reflection Key Concepts essay form author-reader intimacy Questions to Reflect On - How does direct communication affect reader engagement? - Can essays truly outlast novels? A Different Perspective Novels may evolve and remain relevant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balzac/) [Balzac Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balzac-montaigne-3525389/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Choose Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choose-montaigne-3525388/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) [Direct communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct-communication/) [Essays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/essays/) [Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/montaigne/) [Montaigne Choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/montaigne-choose-3525386/) [Montaigne Survive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/montaigne-survive-3525387/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Thousand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand/) [Thousand years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-years/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“He blushed to see other Frenchmen overcome with joy whenever they met a compatriot abroad. The would fall on each other, cluster in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-bakewell/he-blushed-to-see-other-frenchmen-overcome-with-joy-whenever-they-met/) [Sarah Bakewell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-bakewell/) > [“He is at one and the same time all and nothing, always different and yet ever the same, the Montaigne of 1550, 1560, 1570,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/he-is-at-one-and-the-same-time-all-and-nothing-always-different-and/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [ “\[He who can describe how his heart is ablaze is burning on a small pyre\] ~ Petrarch, Sonnet 137 (from Montaigne, On sadness)” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/he-who-can-describe-how-his-heart-is-ablaze-is-burning-on-a-small/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > [“In Montaigne’s redrawn portrait of the adequate, semi-rational human being, it is possible to speak no Greek, fart, change one’s mind after a meal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/in-montaigne-s-redrawn-portrait-of-the-adequate-semi-rational-human/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Writing does not cause misery. It is born of misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/writing-does-not-cause-misery-it-is-born-of-misery/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Montaigne simply turns his mind loose and writes whatever he feels like writing. 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At 1:00 A.M.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-currey/when-balzac-was-working-his-writing-schedule-was-brutal-he-ate-a/) [Mason Currey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-currey/) > [My film is actually very critical of the level of French we're using back home. To have an immigrant from an ancient French colony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-falardeau/my-film-is-actually-very-critical-of-the-level-of-french-we-re-using/) [Philippe Falardeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-falardeau/) > [“I'm the next fucking Balzac. What about Proust?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-pierce/i-m-the-next-fucking-balzac-what-about-proust/) [M. Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-pierce/) > [“Balzac was pretty funny. His philosophy is plain and simple, says basically that pure materialism is a recipe for madness. 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