ng the divine order of things was that while some people were almost celestial, others were no better
             than animals, and that this great variance of character among the human population only served to increase their importance and uniqueness from
             all other of God's creatures. His essay, which praised human greatness and exalted the powers of humanity, was opposed by more negative views
             of humanity, as expressed in the works of Montaigne and Shakespeare.
             Montaigne's essay "Man's presumption and Littleness" belittles the greatness of man so much that he becomes no more than another beast
             among beasts, possibly even lower than some of God's other creatures. Montaigne cannot imagine why man believes himself so great:
             Is it possible to imagine anything so ridiculous as that this miserable and puny creature, who is not even master of himself... should call himself
             master and emperor of the universe, the least part of which is not in his power to understand, much less command? (Montaigne 1808)
             With this statement, Montaigne not only communicates his disbelief that man is great, but also his doubt that he can obtain any knowledge of
             Montaigne goes to length to point out the faults and failures of humanity. Where Pico takes pains to explain the greatness of man, Montaigne
             ...