On the subject of vanity, of which he criticises the manifestation, we observe an assonance of an, em; the nasal vowels translate the effect of pride and disdain produced by this artifice of pleasure:

“Praise is always pleasing, let it come from whom, or upon what account it will; yet ought a man to understand why he is commended, that he may know how to keep up the same reputation still: imperfections themselves may get commendation.” (III, 9)

[“La louange est toujours plaisante, de qui, et pourquoy elle vienne: Si faut-il pour s’en aggreer justement, estre informé de sa cause. Les imperfections mesme ont leur moyen de se recommender.” (III, 9, p.1009)]

In this way intermusicality proliferates according to the meaning to be conveyed, and superimposes itself on the written text and painted image. Sometimes, as we have seen, the image is brought to life, whether in ekphrasis or hypotyposis, through intermusical sound effects, which produces a natural effect in the triply interartistic discourse. Furthermore, the freely multiplying quotations seem to re-create the rhapsody of the essays.

The Interartistic Phenomenon through Montaigne’s Essays, Peter Lang, Bern, 2018, p. 110