Erroneously, philosophers often attribute achievements and heroism to the ability to withstand pressure, social or physical, in extreme situations. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) came up with a more realistic view.
Instead of looking at extreme situations in isolation, he saw them as part of a normal process, where things evolve either in one direction or the other, ceaselessly shifting from day to day, from good to worse, and then back to good.
Montaigne had drawn this essential lesson from Heraclitus (around 500 BC); he did not expect events to be linear, and had no problem accepting the ups and downs of life. He regarded a flexible mentality as far more valuable than rigidity.
As a result, Montaigne described virtues in a manner similar to Aristotle (384-322 BC) in his “Nicomachean Ethics,” that is, as beneficial habits that lead to happiness if they are practised assiduously.
When it comes to self-expression or personal development, the same principle applies. Success in those areas depends on habits practised day in and day out. It’s not the result of one-in-a-lifetime deployment of rhetorical techniques to save the day when all cards have fallen.
Michel de Montaigne’s essay “On Exercise and Practice”
Montaigne elaborated on this idea in his essay “On Exercise and Practice.” The need for daily practice, mental and physical, is the fundamental idea in the essay. Personal development in general (and the ability to self-expression in particular) need to be cultivated over time like any other complex skill.
In this respect, self-discipline constitutes the indispensable pillar. When it comes to exercise and practice, self-discipline is far more important than motivation, leisure time, affordability, and any other factor.
Montaigne’s vast literary achievements are hundred per cent the outcome of self-discipline. If we compare him with similar persons (French landowners in the sixteenth century), it is easy to see that he did not have any special advantage.
The self-discipline displayed by Montaigne was intellectual and physical, but he did it in a clever way. He steered away in a resolute manner from unpleasant activities, and practised the few ones that he enjoyed.
Montaigne enjoyed horse-riding and fencing, which he kept practising until his late years. He only stopped horse-riding at the time when his kidney stones were causing him sharp pains.
Whether Montaigne chose horse-riding or fencing depended on the weather and the availability of fencing partners.
In his twenties, while he was practising law in Bordeaux, Montaigne had the possibility to practise fencing as a sport and participate in tournaments; later, he went to live in a farmhouse in the south of France, and fenced mostly with gentlemen in his vicinity, but that was enjoyable enough.
Michel de Montaigne’s path to self-expression
The regular physical exercise pattern matches Montaigne’s pattern of intellectual occupations, namely, reading books from his personal library, writing and editing his essays. He did that for two decades with only minor interruptions.
On this basis, I can say that Montaigne earned his resilience through his daily habits. He didn’t need extraordinary pressure from outside forces to exercise physically and intellectually. I can only commend readers to cultivate such an self-discipline.
In his essay “On Exercise and Practice,” Montaigne reveals the philosophical sources for his remarkable self-discipline and self-expression. Let’s review those sources and the lessons that they convey.
[1] The compiled “Lives” by Plutarch (46-120 AD) contain numerous comments on military training in ancient Rome. The comments underline the daily repetition of a limited number of exercises (e.g. very long walking carrying a heavy backpack), irrespective of the winter cold or summer heat.
Constant combat readiness was the goal pursued by soldiers in ancient Rome through strenuous training; for Montaigne, the goal is pursuing daily happiness thorough enjoyable activities.
Montaigne took up this principle and implemented it decade after decade. He identified a few physical and intellectual tasks that he enjoyed, practised them in all seasons, and discarded all the rest.
Michel de Montaigne’s self-improvement practice
[2] The idea of progressive training is drawn from the work “Description of Greece” by Pausanias (around 150 BC), which recounts the story of Milo of Croton, a wrestler from southern Italy. Montaigne uses the story to emphasise that training needs continuity across time.
Milo had began training at a young age with the objective of becoming a professional wrestler; his most demanding exercise was to carry a young bull on his shoulders. As Milo grew, the bull also grew in size and weight, but Milo continued his daily exercise, barely noticing the increased weight from day to day.
Montaigne earned his capacity for self-expression exactly in the same way. At the beginning, his historical research proved rather chaotic and his writing left a lot to desired. The process was slow and cumbersome, but over time, his skills grew. The research and writing became easier, and led to a large output.
Personal development and physical stamina require step-by-step building. Plutarch recounts how Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) had adopted since an early age the lifestyle of soldiers in all areas: long marches, enduring deprivations, sleeping on the ground, etc. He did not acquire those habits overnight.
Similarly, Montaigne recalls that Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) had acquired during the Gallic Wars the ability to withstand the weather inclemencies. Caesar’s high resilience wasn’t acquired in a day.
Montaigne drew philosophical strength from those ancient sources, enabling him to cultivate his self-discipline. Physical and intellectual exercises serve “the strengthening of our soul,” he noted, because they prepare us to “endure imperfections.”
In two decades of practising, it’s no wonder that Montaigne could acquire an exception capacity for self-expression. I can only endorse Montaigne’s view that “practice is the mother of all achievements.”
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all situations, I recommend you my book “Undisrupted: How highly effective people deal with disruptions.”