In Michel de Montaigne’s essay “Of Smells”, he makes it very clear that the power of smells can be strong and subtle.  He mentions numerous examples of both.  He quotes great writers of their opinions of smells, as well as uses catchy phrases such as: “To smell good is to stink.”  He gives examples of different situations where smell plays a part in life as well as how smell has shaped some societies.  He makes a very clear point at the end about how a pleasant smell can make one feel good; and he also makes the exact point earlier on in the essay about how we perceive people based on the way that they smell.

One of the very interesting things that he had to say was: “It is said of some, as of Alexander the Great, that their sweat emitted a sweet odor, owing to some extraordinary constitution of theirs” (140).  When he says this, I think to myself, is this a metaphor?  Is he suggesting that you can tell that someone is great by the way that they smell?  If that is the case then we all are great, at least, with the aid of perfumes and colognes.

This leads me to another point that he had to make. He says, “And perfumes are rightly considered suspicious in those that use them, and thought to be used to cover up some natural defect in that quarter” (141).  Which I would have to say is true.  Perfume and cologne is used to cover up natural odors such as bad breath, sweat, and particularly in that time; the fact that one could not take a bath for a long period of time.  So naturally, in that time period, to wear perfume was to admit that you smelled bad and were trying to cover it up.  Even today, people will wear these things to make a good impression on others.

He mentions the fact that people will use odor covering agents later in his essay when he speaks of how the Scythian woman will powder and plaster herself and when she cleans all this off, she is left smelling good. Then the Scythian woman approaches men. For the impression of the situation, she has made herself smell attractive with odiferous drugs from her native land.

Much can be concluded from smell alone.  But we should not judge too quickly those that smell foul. For there hearts may smell sweet and pure, even though they may smell on the outside.

-Eric Takis

All quotes and references in this piece come from:

Montaigne, Michel de;“Of Smells”

Twenty-Five Great Essays:

Edited by: DiYanni, Robert

 (2005): p.140-141