The Most Civilized Frenchman Of His Era

Michel de Montaigne ranks among the wisest and most urbane figures in literary history.  In an age of intolerance, religious fanaticism, and warring dynasties, his was a voice that cried out for understanding and moderation.  He had the good sense not to get too involved in politics, and found his chateau’s library a more congenial place for his survival than the exhausting intrigues of court life or the crash and rattle of the battlefield; and yet, more than his contemporaries, he was able to cast his influence down through the centuries as a paragon of rationalism.

He was born in 1533 in the Aquitaine region of France.  His father was unusual for his day in having pronounced libertarian views on education:  learning, he believed, should happen through seeing, doing, touching, and experiencing, rather than by rote memorization and physical discipline.  The infant Montaigne was provided with an attendant who spoke to him only in Latin, so that he would learn the language in a natural way as if it were still a living tongue.  In this way, Montaigne says, he was able to acquire a command of the old language as few others could, and “without books, rules, or grammar, without whipping or whining.”  His love of the classical authors is evident on every page of the Essays, which he generously packs with quotations and allusions.

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Montaigne’s family chateau

The ancient authors are better than the moderns, he held, because they focused on character and moral development as much as on knowledge.  Yet he never allowed himself to become an introverted bookworm; he believed in the Renaissance concept of the well-rounded man.  Training in physical hardships and combative sport was just as essential, he believed, as time in contemplative study.

In 1568 Montaigne inherited his father’s estate as his eldest son, and Montaigne found the perfect opportunity to withdraw from the strife and conflict of the legal profession (to which he reluctantly belonged) and devote his hours to contemplation and study.  His library contained over one  thousand volumes bound in sumptuous hand-tooled leather, at that time a huge number for a private man to own.  France at the time was wracked by religious conflict and extreme violence between Catholics and Huguenots (French Protestants):  “I have a thousand times gone to bed…imagining I should, the very same night, have been either betrayed or slain in my bed.”

His masterwork, the Essays, was written over several years beginning in 1570, and finally appeared in print in 1580.  It is among the supreme achievements of European literature.  His favorite authors were Seneca, Plutarch, St. Augustine, Lucretius, and Martial.  He calls these volumes “meas delicias” (my delights), but never allows his admiration of them to turn into slavish paraphrasing.  Through all his quotes and digressions, his voice remains uniquely his own.  No one had quite written any literary composition quite like the Essays.  He wanders from one subject to another, touching on hundreds, yet he apologizes for not discussing more.  Through this jungle of genial discourse, a philosophy emerges that is characterized by tolerance, philosophical skepticism, humanity, and classical restraint.

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The ceiling of Montaigne’s study, inscribed with his favorite literary quotations

He proposes to examine himself.  “Que sais-je?” (What do I know?) he took as his motto, in the sense that he began with doubting all that he believed to be inherited knowledge.  He seems to have become disillusioned with Christianity’s doctrinal certainties, after seeing the bloodlust with which warring sects consumed each other in his day.  And yet he maintained a fond preference for Catholic ritual and pageantry.  Of all the ancient philosophical schools, he thought Stoicism the best, and retained Stoic leanings throughout his Essays; yet he also found much wisdom and wonder in Lucretius, and finally espoused an almost Enlightenment belief in an abstract “Nature” as a substitute for an all-powerful God.

The best education, he thought, was one modeled on the classical Muses, emphasizing character and a well-rounded focus on masculine virtue.  Moderation in all things should be the rule.  Even too much virtue can be a bad thing.  Travel is a critical part of an education, as long as we have the open mind to process what we are actually seeing.  “It was told to Socrates that a certain man had been not much improved by travel. ‘I believe it well, said he, ‘for he carried himself with him.’”  The peoples and customs of the world can teach us humility, for “so many strange humors, sundry sects…diverse opinions, different laws, and fantastical customs teach us to judge rightly of ours.” The reading of history, he thought, was also critical to an understanding of mankind and ourselves.

Like the ancients, Montaigne valued friendship more highly than amorous love between man and woman.  He was deeply affected by the death of one of his close friends.  To him, sexual infatuation with women was nothing “other than a tickling delight of emptying one’s seminal vessels, as is the pleasure which nature gives us to discharge other parts.”  Marriage should by no means be based on erotic ecstasy.  “I see no marriages fail sooner, or more troubled, than such as are concluded for beauty’s sake, or huddled up for amorous desires.”  Most successful marriages eventually evolve into some form of non-erotic companionship with the passing of years.  Yet Montaigne never darkened the pages of his Essays with a harsh word against women or his wife who had borne him six children; he seems to have married with no expectation that a woman could provide him serious intellectual stimulation (thereby, presumably, sparing himself much disappointment).

Physical health is the highest good.  Care and maintenance of our corporal selves is the sine qua non of a productive life.  All knowledge begins with our physical senses, yet we cannot trust reason.  Reason, more often than not, may only be our inner desires masquerading as rationality.  A healthy skepticism seems the soundest course:  considering the multitude of ideas, creeds, beliefs, and laws in the world, how can we be certain that ours is best?

Fretting about the variability of doctrines, and the relativity of morals and creeds, is of no use either.  “Men are tormented by the opinions they have of things, not by the things themselves.”  Yet just because morals may be relative, that does not mean they are worthless.  Every time and place needs its own orthodoxy, its own way of interpreting the inexplicable cosmos.

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The Massacre of St. Bartholomew:  an example of the intolerance and fanaticism of Montaigne’s day

In the end, we do well simply to accept the creed of our time and place.  Flitting about from one religion to another does little good, since all religions are attempts to explain the unexplainable; and more good can come by losing oneself soothing religious ritual than all the pointless debates of the philosophers, which in the end lead us only to a paralysis of uncertainty.

What makes the Essays one of the most enjoyable of the great works is the reader’s sense of having a direct connection with a civilized and urbane gentleman.  He is without doubt the most civilized Frenchman of his age, and perhaps any other age.  In Montaigne, there is no bombast, no windy declamations, no tiresome or shop-worn pontifications, and no narrow-minded bigotry.  There is only the expansive spirit of man who wishes to know himself and his place in the universe, and is unafraid to expose himself for all the world to see.

He had the courage to embrace his foibles and fooleries, and refused to let his judgment of any man be clouded by the fogs of race, religion, or creed.  In an age that produced religious censorship, arbitrary justice, and the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, his voice was among the wisest and most profound.  We have rarely seen his kind since.

Read More:  Each Day Is A Little Life

43 thoughts on “The Most Civilized Frenchman Of His Era”

  1. “In the end, we do well simply to accept the creed of our time and place.”
    Is this purely religious? Because we certainly shouldn’t accept falsehoods that may become deeply ingrained in society. Our own is full of them.

    1. I think he intended this to apply to religious creeds. Basically he was saying that it makes no sense to attack the religion you grew up with, since all of them are about the same anyway, and are all saying pretty much the same thing. He thought that the purpose of religion was to provide solace to the average man, and that it didn’t matter what form this came in.

      1. I find something satisfying about seeing you two comment to each other- I think it’s due to your Latin names and erudite natures. Don’t ask…

  2. Another example of why I look forward to this author’s articles. Well crafted, thoughtful, teaching me something I truly did not know, and a much needed relief from the oft-repeated topics (you know the ones I am talking about) and inspirational. Thank you.

    1. Oh come now, you know we’re all sitting here curious as to how he answered the “Qui est mieux, les femmes orientales ou les femmes occidentales??” question.

      1. That would be THE definitive answer – and then we would thankfully, hopefully, be done with the topic.

  3. When one asked him if he felt alone in contemplating all day, Montaigne responded: “How can one feel alone, when he is surrounded by the greatest minds and the greatest books.”
    Montaigne left the public life when he was 38 years old, his aim was to wait for death to come. 10 years later, he understood that he was still young and decided to travel, after a few years in Italy, he came back for good in order to wait for death to come.
    It is important to highlight that the essais were only written for him, it was a way for Montaigne to summarize the books he was reading since according to him he had a very poor memory.
    Stefan Zweig made a great and very easy book to read that captures the very essence of Montaigne. I invite anyone who is interested to read it.

      1. A brit named Alain de Botton has a BBC series about philosphers. He includes the usual heavy hitters ie Socrates, Nietsche but has an entire episode devoted to Montaigne. Great article QC….

  4. This is where you can see the true value of a CLASSICAL liberal education, Montaigne , the Stoics, Augustine, and so many others from history, the learning of languages, music.
    For all the knocks a liberal education takes in these times, if one approaches it sincerely and with dedication it still has tremendous value in one’s life.
    You don’t learn these things to pay the bills, you learn them to understand how to live.

    1. I agree. Most of my ‘classic’ school compulsory reading wasn’t quite as philosophical and historical as this, but it certainly allows you to appreciate good literature.
      And I often go back and re-read many of my school books. Dickens, Wyndham,..etc.
      Unfortunately, modern political correctness has dictated that many of the best pieces of literature are consigned to the dustbin.
      Most of Mark Twain’s work, ‘to kill a mockingbird’..etc…. all stricken off the school reading lists because they use the work ‘nigger’. Which most teenagers hear a few thousand times a day anyway, listening to the billboard top 50.

  5. One of, if not, the best writers on RoK. Always look forward to being exposed to classic literature. Gonna expand my reading list now.

  6. Great article. The enlightenment of his articles are a rare gem in the mostly shit articles that are published online; his articles stimulate my nobler qualities. Quintus is the shining light of this site hands down

  7. Moderation in all things, including moderation itself.
    Quintus, your articles are always the ones I look forward to the most. Montaigne’s attitude toward marriage reflected the Catholic Church’s attitude at the time. The most important decision a Catholic man makes is whether to marry at all. If you have decided upon marriage, the specific woman you marry is a question of prudence, such as what career to embrace or where to live. Marrying solely to satisfy romantic longings or carnal lust is folly that ends in tears.

    1. I like your first sentence.
      Very true: virtue, like everything else, should be had in moderation. A night of drunken revelry now and then can be a wonder for the soul.

  8. I do not think that he was the greatest French man of his age. I personally think that Rabelais was the greatest. Reading Rabelais makes me glad to be alive. I do not get that feeling from Montaigne.

    1. Well, remember that I called him the “most civilized” man of his era. Rabelais certainly exceeded Montaigne in ribaldry and bawdiness.
      The two writers were very different and had different goals. But in terms of philosophical profundity and mature wisdom, I challenge anyone to find a rival to Montaigne.
      He even exceeds Voltaire, who by comparison comes off as a flippant trickster.

  9. Such a obvious common trait among smart, successful, powerful men is there apparent view on women, ” To him, sexual infatuation with women was nothing “other than a tickling delight of emptying one’s seminal vessels, as is the pleasure which nature gives us to discharge other parts.” Great part of the article!

  10. To him, sexual infatuation with women was nothing “other than a tickling delight of emptying one’s seminal vessels, as is the pleasure which nature gives us to discharge other parts.”
    This essay does not belong here. Quintus Curtius, I think you waste your writings here. This site is not about Kings, it’s about women and how to please them sexually. Something Montaigne was not concerned with, as otherwise he would have a chapter On Women.
    Montaigne wrote about how to be a human, not how to be women’s sex slave.

    1. I would like to think that everyone on this site is true to its stated commitment to self-improvement.
      One’s attractiveness (sexual and otherwise) and one’s masculinity are distinct; that is true. But they are also inseparable. To be precise, the relationship between the two is epiphenomenal (a la Weber’s description of the relationship between Protestant beliefs and wealth).

  11. I have the ‘Complete Montaigne’ sitting on my shelf; this article’s a nice reminder to crack that fat sucker open. Thanks for keeping the torch of the better parts of Western culture aflame.

  12. With every post you show just how shallowly the entirety of my history/humanities studies scratched the surface. And pile onto my reading list.
    It’s always a pleasure
    Thanks for the intro to good sir Montaigne, QC

    1. Thanks, Nate.
      It’s normal to feel as if our formal schooling let us down. But don’t let that stop you. Use that resentment to tackle all those great books that they tried to prevent you from experiencing.
      Public schools (which I always attended) are woefully inadequate in teaching us about our classical, medieval, and early modern heritage.
      And the more you learn, the more you realize that the manosphere came about because of this huge gap in our collective consciousness as men.
      It arose because it was needed. Everything we talk about today, was known to them in ages past.
      Our movement is like the Renaissance in that we are now re-discovering things that they tried to suppress.

  13. Again I learn more about the interesting life and impact of a great philosopher and yet again I am unsurprised to see the author title reads Quintus Curtius.
    It’s a shame, but aside from Socrates and Aristotle I had not heard of any of these great philosophers before discovering return of kings and, primarily, Quintus Curtius.
    Well done.

  14. A fine overview of the superb Montaigne. Students of this wisdom writer should read his great American disciple, Ralph Waldo Emerson.

  15. As many others have already stated, QC is the best thing on RoK (maybe the internet).

  16. If I had the money I’d pay QC to be my personal tutor, much like how Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great, as I waged my campaign of conquering pussy

  17. Michel de Montaigne’s genius penetrates deep because he writes his thoughts as if he were your best friend and narrates a lot of philosophical cases using historical anecdotes and citing beautifully, poems. He doesn’t go all hard-core academic like some robotic writer, His artistic literary approach makes his wisdom.. “Beautiful” . His “flow’ of thoughts are… Magic.
    It’s a work of ART. The fact a guy like this existed is PRICELESS and if you have any respect for wisdom you NEED to get his works. We’re talking the existentially wisest recorded man on the planet during the renaissance. Enlightenment to him, was having a good relationship with his own conscience. He abandoned the shallow worldly affairs around him for a contemplative tower. Almost all philosophers had retreats of loneliness. Default Asceticism. What’s unbelievably strange is how relevant his opinions are 422 years later, Nothing has changed. We’re just a cycle. Montaigne was so red-pill he didn’t even consider it an argument. There was no blue or red pill to him, Although he does recount a story of a blue pill beta man who farted in a social setting and hung himself due to embarrassment.

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