The approach to history adopted by Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) offers a sharp contrast to what his contemporaries were doing. They revered history and studied it assiduously; it gave them an ideal to emulate. In contrast, Montaigne regarded history as a source of practical wisdom, a source to be assessed and contested as necessary.
Take for instance, Montaigne’s essay “On the arms of the Parthians.” Superficially, Montaigne is speaking about ancient battle strategies, weapons and armour. At the same time, he is entertaining deeper layers of thought.
The Parthians were an ancient people known for shooting arrows while riding fast horses. Nowadays, few people would care about the Parthians. Even in Montaigne’s own time, in the sixteenth century, few people knew about the Parthians.
In the best Renaissance spirit, Montaigne is employing the Parthians only as a starting point for philosophical reflection. I find it fascinating to follow Montaigne’s train of thought, how he goes from ancient anecdotes to lessons of universal value.
Montaigne recounts how the Parthians fought war against the all-powerful Roman legions. The Parthians knew that they had no chance in close combat against the Romans because of their inferior numbers.
After studying the Roman strategy, they had realised that it was suicidal to engage in traditional combat. The Romans were able to recruit a dozen legions, as many as necessary, and keep launching attacks until they got their way.
Montaigne’s essay “On the arms of the Parthians”
Montaigne underlines that the Parthians wisely decided to do only what they did best. They had numerous horses, at least one per soldier, and they excelled at archery. They knew how to manufacture and use arches and arrows like no other people in antiquity. That was their comparative advantage.
The anecdotes about the Parthian way of life are interesting, but the whole point of Montaigne’s essay is to elaborate on the concept of “Parthian shot.” He is referring the Parthian skill to shoot arrows backwards.
The Parthians repeated the trick a thousand times. The sent their cavalry close to a Roman encampment in order to prompt Roman soldiers to run after them. Parthian riders taunted their enemies in every possible way, but never got close to them.
Montaigne explains that the Parthians aimed at bringing the Romans in disarray. It was difficult to hit Roman soldiers when they marched in formation, protected by their shields. The best way to turn the Romans into easy targets is to make them run, so that they broke ranks and became vulnerable.
When the Romans started to chase on foot (they had much fewer horses than the Parthians), the Parthian riders pretended to be afraid. They turned around and rode away, but not too fast. The Parthians wanted the Romans to chase them and get tired, so that they would break ranks and lowered their shields.
After a few hundred meters, the Parthians started to shoot arrows while still retreating. They had acquired the rare skill to shoot backwards while riding forward. For the Romans, it was a surprise with devastating effect.
A concept popularised by Montaigne in the Renaissance
Montaigne’s essay popularized the term “a Parthian shot.” It means an unexpected attack, not only in military encounters. A Parthian shot could hit you in any area of life. It can mean an unexpected bad turn in a professional project, the treason of a friend, or a personal attack that you could not anticipate.
The Parthians, as described by Montaigne, symbolize speed and self-reliance. They identified their competitive advantage and they pushed it to the forefront. They acquired asymmetric skills that enabled them to resist a daunting enemy.
Montaigne’s goal is not to glorify the Parthians. He does not endorse war in general, but acknowledges that it was frequent in ancient times. His goal is to praise speed and self-reliance as essential virtues, and call his readers to practise them.
In his record of the Parthian battles, he notes that “they were able to fight as much during retreat as during attack.” What is your personal strategy to remain fully operational during good and bad times? Can you imitate the Parthians in this regard?
Strengths analysis by Montaigne in the Renaissance
Montaigne stresses the importance of not fighting battles that are already lost. He tells us that the Parthians “had trained themselves to shoot arrows from a distance without engaging close combat.” What is your strategy for steering away from trouble, useless work, and draining situations?
An asymmetric strategy enabled the Parthians to do much better than other native peoples fighting Rome. The Parthians were able to hold their ground for a long time, inflicting vast losses on the Roman legions. What is your asymmetric strategy to protect your career and investments? Have you developed a competitive advantage that you can exploit year after year?
I fully subscribe to Montaigne’s conclusion from the story. I give here Montaigne’s formulation: “In conflict, it is crucial to know your strengths and the enemy’s weaknesses.” I would go further and extrapolate the lesson as follows: “In life, it’s in our interest to identify and cultivate our strengths.”
Montaigne cleverly observes that such an strategy also adds to one’s mental resilience and motivation. It’s more fun to work at becoming excellent than to correct little deficiencies. Note that the Parthians never bothered to engage against the Romans in close combat. There is no glory in fighting lost battles.
If you are interested in bringing rational philosophy into all kind of situations here and now, I recommend you my book “On becoming unbreakable.”