When Michel de Montaigne referred to classical philosophy in his “Essays,” his goal was to illustrate a particular point or give credibility to a certain argument. Montaigne (1533-1592) was not interested in classical philosophy as such. His primary and constant interest was the theory of happiness. Classical authors gave Montaigne a helping hand in his own philosophical path.
Montaigne’s essay “A Consideration Upon Cicero” provides a paramount example of how to employ classical philosophy for addressing today’s problems.
Since Montaigne lived in the sixteenth century, he could not even comprehend many of Cicero’s concerns. The institutions of the Roman Republic were completely different from those in Montaigne’s France. The economic, military, and morality issues addressed by Cato refer to a very different environment.
Yet, Montaigne managed to extract every drop of wisdom from Cicero’s writings. He passed review to Cicero’s ambitions and setbacks, and pointed out to the contradictions between the public ideals defended by Cicero and his sordid, sleazy moves to increase his personal power.
Montaigne’s essay “A Consideration Upon Cicero”
Montaigne’s interest in Cicero’s writings rests on Cicero’s avowed allegiance to stoicism. Although the memory has been lost, stoicism was the dominant philosophy in the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. The aristocracy and middle class overwhelmingly adhered to the doctrines of stoicism.
Which ideas was Cicero defending in public? Stoicism calls for honesty, justice, and self-restraint. It condemns thoughtless ambitions, that is, those that appear attractive in the short term but are likely to cause headaches down the road.
Montaigne had a deep respect for ancient stoicism and held Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, and Epictetus in high regard. Cicero didn’t come up himself with the doctrine of stoicism. He just took over ideas already present in the late Roman Republic.
The great merit of this essay by Montaigne is to isolate the crucial details from Cicero’s biography and compare them with his avowed philosophy. To which extent did Cicero practise the virtues of honesty, justice, and self-restraint?
Montaigne arrives at the sad conclusion that Cicero failed to meet his own standards. His political scheming does not fulfil the moral standards of stoicism. His dedication to the Roman Republic was little more than a disguise for his power-seeking intrigues.
Michel de Montaigne’s criticism of Cicero
In his essay, Montaigne presents the dire results of Cicero’s failure to behave properly. He tell us that Cicero saw “all his friends turn away from him.” Their former appreciation turned to dislike when they saw through Cicero’s thinly disguised self-serving ambitions.
Stoicism required Cicero to remain loyal to his values even in the face of negative consequences. Honesty and justice are to be placed on a higher ground than power games. Fairness is a constant requirement to be met by stoics, not a luxury to be enjoyed once in a while.
Montaigne shows a particular dislike for Cicero’s posturing and virtue signalling. Cicero defended high ideals in his public speeches at the Roman Senate. He employed his eloquence and erudition to convey a philosophy that he would betray shortly after.
Inconsistency in virtue renders virtue worthless. When high ideals are preached but not implemented, they become a comic story. Nobody is going to take the speaker seriously any more.
Montaigne underlined that stoicism doesn’t work when it is not practised consistently. Virtue (honesty, justice, self-restraint and modesty) can recharge one’s energies in times of trouble. It is a benefit that Cicero relinquished when he gave more weight to his ambitions than to ethics.
The whole point of philosophy is to give lifetime guidance and comfort. It is a path to happiness and tranquillity, but one must walk the path every day. Cicero attempted to move in and out of the path according to his personal interests. The results proved undesirable.
Montaigne tells us that “Cicero’s remarkable skills could not render him invulnerable to bad luck.” In life, everyone is going to experience setbacks, opposition and failure. That’s why I am underlining the need to practise virtue constantly and steadily.
Even at the height of the Roman Republic, the city of Rome remained a small village. Aristocrats and merchants knew each other and their families. Good and bad deeds were recorded in the public memory, and remembered for generations.
Roman citizens loved to listen to speeches in the Senate and the Forum, and would discuss them for weeks. They endorsed this or that proposal with passion, but in the long term, reality spoke louder than words.
The lesson drawn by Montaigne from Cicero’s life
When speakers make empty promises, their credibility does not last long. When they say one thing and did another, people would eventually detect the discrepancy and turned away from them. Nobody likes liars. That’s the iron law of human nature.
Montaigne gets this point across very subtly. “Cicero had a remarkable eloquence,” he wrote, “but his personal morality proved far less remarkable.”
Nowadays, the situation is no different than in the ancient Roman Republic. Ever-present social media are giving people a halo of virtue and success, but reality may diverge from the public image.
Cicero faked his virtue twenty-one centuries ago. Today, it has become a widespread practice to do so. “Cicero’s writings show a solid grasp of ethics,” writes Montaigne, “but his own life pointed in a different direction.”
Montaigne’s reflection about Cicero is a call for consistency in one’s life. He is telling us to choose the right philosophy and practise it consistently.
At the same time, Montaigne is warning us against people who fail to practice what they preach. “Cicero made abundant display of public virtue, but when push came to shove, he just did something else.”
Beware of hypocrites and steer away from them. I remind myself often of Montaigne’s lessons and they have spared me plenty of trouble. They are worth rereading once and again.
If you are interested in putting rational ideas into practice in today’s situations, I recommend you my book “Against all odds: How to achieve great victories in desperate times.”