[Montaigne and the experience of falling from his horse].

Around 1573 or 1574, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) suffered afallfrom his horse, followed by fainting for two or three hours. He describes the accident in the 6th chapter of the second volume of his Essays, from two points of view: evocation of the accident itself and description of what he felt during this experience that enabled him, somehow, to "be close to death". This text, where Montaigne explains one of his intimate experiences, appears as an important light on the origins and the nature of his Essays.