When I analyse the biography of great individuals, I always focus on one question: What did they do to become great? My objective is to figure out exactly what they did differently than everybody else. The difference is what counts.
Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) made it particularly clear that he wanted to differentiate himself from his peers. His vast literary achievements are not the result of luck. His philosophy is not the outcome of random circumstances, but of persistence and determination.
I view Montaigne as a master in the art of living because of his unusually high productivity. Even with a busy professional life as a lawyer in Bordeaux, he became extremely well-read and raised a family.
Montaigne even found the time to travel abroad (Germany, Italy) for a year, and later occupied public office for four years. All those activities did not prevent him from becoming highly productive as an author.
I’m going to summarise Montaigne’s art of living, especially the lessons that we can put into practice here and now.
Michel de Montaigne’s focused lifestyle
[1] Montaigne limited the number of activities or tasks that he undertook. During his studies at the College de Guyenne, he did not spread himself too thin.
Most of his study subjects revolved around Latin language, Latin authors, the basics of ancient Greek, history, philosophy, and arithmetic.
Montaigne graduated at thirteen and enrolled in Law school, where he completed his legal studies in three years. He started working at sixteen as a legal apprentice, and five year later, he had qualified to practise as a lawyer.
If Montaigne had consumed large amounts of entertainment or practised sports daily, he would have delayed his career by a long stretch. If we want to achieve important goals, the first we need to do is to focus, just as Montaigne had done.
Michel de Montaigne and self-reliance
[2] Over time, Montaigne grew extraordinarily self-reliant. I must underline that his self-confident mentality was as unusual in the sixteenth century as it is today.
Montaigne rejected fear, defensiveness and gregariousness, the character traits that marked small aristocrats in his century. Instead of regarding Protestants and Catholics as irreconcilable enemies, he called for tolerance and conciliation.
His self-reliance prompted him to abandon his legal career in order to retire to live in the countryside. He had inherited a large manor (a “castle”) and land from his father, but any other man in his position would have continued his legal career, and leveraged his inheritance to secure a high public office.
Montaigne was clever enough to draw the line and say no. I see few individuals nowadays having the moral and emotional strength to quit promising projects because they want to devote themselves a larger, more ambitious goal.
What did self-reliance mean precisely in Montaigne’s case? It translated in choosing a modest, inexpensive lifestyle that he could maintain for decades, so that he could devote himself to a larger goal.
Montaigne didn’t choose a lifestyle of privation though. He was not deprived of food or basic comforts, but other than that, he staked no demands.
His daily work schedule (literary work) was demanding and relentless, and produced zero earnings in the short term. I want to underline that long-term undertakings require a special type of self-reliance, one that is particularly sturdy and unbreakable.
Michel de Montaigne and solitude
[3] Montaigne had no fear of solitude because he enjoyed a very active intellectual life. His closest friend, Etienne de La Boetie (1530-1563), died when Montaigne was thirty years old and it took Montaigne a quarter of a century to find a similar personal connection.
Until Montaigne met Marie de Gournay (1565-1645), I find accurate to say that he did not have close friends that equalled his level of intellectual sophistication.
Most people cannot conceive going through life relying on themselves primarily without having close friends by their side to provide them with guidance and support.
Montaigne conveyed the opposite message in his essay “Of Solitude.” He acknowledges that solitude can be hard at times, but he views it as necessary for building character, resolve and self-confidence.
If Montaigne had decided to stay in Bordeaux to lead a city lifestyle, he would not have produced his vast literary output. I regard solitude at regular intervals as necessary to organize and collect one’s thoughts, so that we don’ get carried away by the intellectual fashions of the day.
I cannot totally subscribe to Montaigne’s admiration for the ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope (412-323 BC). I find Diogenes’ lifestyle, solitary and miserly, too demanding. A moderate asceticism can offer us the same advantages without endangering one’s health and financial stability.
Should our capacity for solitude be linked to our willingness to explore new ideas, places and activities? Possibly, because we need quiet reflection time to develop bold, daring plans that we can later carry out.
Montaigne’s essay “Of the Education of Children” recounts that the Roman general Scipio Africanus (236-183 BC) used to devote his spare time to reading philosophy despite his intense, exhausting travels. Should we not take the hint and imitate the great Scipio Africanus?
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in all sort of situations, I recommend you my book titled “Against all odds: How to achieve great victories in desperate times.”