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Abstract

We examine Montaigne’s use of “certes” as marker in the Essays from a Linguistic Corpus Approach. While according to critics, the distinguo method is at the heart of the Essays, this rhetoric and argumentative device is in fact little used by Montaigne. A comparison with texts by his contemporaries (including Léry, Aubigné, Pasquier) makes it possible to identify more closely the specific features of Montaigne's writing.