In his “Essays,” Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) often called for reason and tolerance. Those are distinctive features of humanism, together with critical thinking, a love of ancient history, and a strong preference for experience over theory.
Montaigne was aware that sheer distance, whether temporal or geographical, can prompt people to suspicion. He wrote that “every person calls barbarous things that he is unaccustomed to” Indeed, we tend to consider rightful the opinions, customs, and prejudices of the country where we live.
Humanism endorses precisely the opposite idea. It calls for open-mindedness and fairness when confronting new ideas. It’s sceptical of apparent truths until they have been subjected to a careful examination.
I consider Montaigne’s essay “On some verses of Virgil” a great example of humanistic open-mindedness and fairness. Its exploration of ancient Roman mores doesn’t lead to immediate condemnation. Instead, it asks the right questions and looks for credible answers.
The essay contains numerous quotations from Virgil (70-19 BC), the ancient Roman poet. The quotations are drawn from Virgil’s major work titled “Aeneid.”
Curiously enough, Virgil himself was practising in “Aeneid” his own version of humanism by comparing recent events with older ones. He recounts the episode where Aeneas is visiting Carthage and encounters paintings about the Trojan War in a religious building. As a result, Aeneas begins to “shed tears for passed things and his mind is inundated with thoughts about death.”
Montaigne’s essay “On some verses of Virgil”
The incident gives Montaigne an excuse to quote a dozen other verses, where Virgil is making philosophical remarks or direct observations about life in ancient Rome.
One of the most-widely quoted verses from Virgil is “Love conquers everything.” Montaigne philosophises about human nature in ancient and present times, concluding that love has remained a strong element in how we make decisions.
Montaigne’s observations aren’t particularly profound when he chooses Virgil’s verses about basic human emotions. He is exulting the love of parents for their children as another strong, constant factor in society, and calls for children to reciprocate the love from their parents.
Virgil had commended children to “look at their mother with a smile because she had carried them inside her for nine months.” Fair enough, Montaigne was as aware as Virgil was that not every child will behave lovingly and obediently.
Concerning human nature, Montaigne quotes Virgil’s brief remark about women. It reads as follows “Woman is always to remain fickle and changeable.” Montaigne then compares the quotation with his own experience with women in the sixteenth century, that is, his contemporaries.
Montaigne also reproduces a verse from Virgil about human insouciance and self-delusion. It refers to the tendency to keep our eyes closed or turn our heads when events don’t match our expectations.
As Virgil noted, it’s dangerous to remain oblivious to danger and risks, even if obliviousness brings short-term comfort. This is the original quotation from Virgil: “How can you sleep in the middle of a crisis? Can you not see the dangers that threaten you?”
Montaigne’s practice of humanism
Humanism is not just about pulling quotations from ancient sources to illustrate your point. The value added is not in those quotations, but in their interpretation. Montaigne didn’t care for life in ancient Rome as such. His interest in ancient literature is a tool for drawing philosophical lessons.
Montaigne was aware that his knowledge of history was not extensive. He was not a professional scholar and had embraced the legal profession. Thus, he knew more about ancient Roman law than about ancient Roman literature, economics, military affairs, and politics.
Luckily, Montaigne refuses to be intimidated by his lack of scholarly knowledge. He doesn’t see his deficiencies as serious obstacles to draw useful knowledge from reading Virgil.
Montaigne argues that scholars tend to get lost in historical details, and miss the philosophical lessons in ancient texts. For the reader, it brings little benefit to delve into tangential details and forget about tangible, hands-on lessons.
In this respect, Montaigne points out that scholars may “find their judgement paralysed” and fail to draw useful lessons from reading Virgil and other ancient authors. Intellectual rigour in the analysis of ancient texts does not necessarily lead to useful conclusions.
Humanism and Montaigne’s warning about distortions
I appreciate in particular the fact that Montaigne didn’t take Virgil’s comments and depictions at full value. He was rather suspicious of artists in general because they tend to embellish and dramatise events to increase the emotional appeal of their works. Virgil must have fallen in this pattern.
When reading or contemplating ancient sources, we should be aware of possible distortions, Montaigne pointed out wisely and prudently. He mentions that painters will try to “trick our vision and depict something quite different from reality.” Thus beware when someone tells you stories that seem too good to be true.
I come now to Montaigne’s initial quotation from Virgil, the one about Aeneas contemplating in Carthage a depiction of the Trojan War. To which extent do those paintings reflect reality?
Only in its essential traits, one must conclude. The painter in Carthage had not witnessed the Trojan War himself. He had been inspired by stories he had heard, but his work is based as much on imagination as on reality.
Humanism, as practised by Montaigne, calls for a balanced analysis of events past and present. Do not allow yourself to be carried away by emotions, prejudice and apparent truths. When put to the tests, those might dissolve too easily and reveal quite a different reality.
If you are interested in applying rational philosophy today in all areas of human activity, I recommend you my book titled “Asymmetry: The shortcut to success when success seems impossible.”