“Let us allow fortune to do her thing, and she will then give us the chance to do ours,” wrote Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) in his essay “That no man should be called happy until his death.”
Montaigne is not telling us that human life is shaped by luck and that we should be happy with our circumstances. Neither is he implying that we are all doomed to a short, miserable life in which countermeasures are pointless because death is awaiting us at the end of the path.
I regard the following twin essays by Montaigne as the most philosophical he wrote. Their titles are “That no man should be called happy until his death” and “That men shall not judge of our happiness before our death.”
I called them “twin essays” because they convey the same idea from a slightly different perspective. The former adopts an objective perspective, and the latter, a subjective. They are also referring to the same historical anecdotes.
What’s the lesson Montaigne is presenting in those essays? I can summarise it in one sentence. Montaigne is telling us that personal growth requires constant action and reaction. It’s not a plateau that, once attained, remains permanently stable.
“That no man should be called happy until his death”
Happiness is directly dependent on personal growth, which is a combination of luck and hard work. Luck will turn bad at times, but hard work should remain constant because it is the best countermeasure to errors, opposition, and setbacks.
Montaigne calls unrealistic to regard happiness as a stable, permanent plateau. Personal growth is a lifetime mission, not a temporary project.
We should remind ourselves frequently of the fact that even extremely successful people can have their achievements and happiness destroyed by bad luck. That’s why Montaigne views personal growth as process of action and reaction.
In the above-mentioned twin essays, he mentions Polycrates of Samos (538-522 BC) as an example. After having attained the highest political position in Samos, Polycrates’ life seemed perfectly happy and stable.
However, good luck turned into bad luck, wiping out every positive element in Polycrates’ life. After he was betrayed, one calamity led to the next, and eventually, to his death.
“That men shall not judge of our happiness before our death”
Montaigne is driving home the point that happiness should be enjoyed, but we should keep working hard to protect it. Let us remain realistic about life. Good times are often followed by bad times. If we adopt countermeasures early enough, we can minimise the damage during bad times.
Prevention does not mean paranoia, clarified Montaigne. He points to Dionysus the Elder (432-367 BC) as an example. In spite of his power and wealth, Dionysus was mortally afraid of losing everything. Although he was the ruler of Syracuse, his paranoia prevented him from enjoying his achievements.
Montaigne encourages readers to pursue personal growth in a balanced manner. We should be looking simultaneously at the present and at the future. We should enjoy today’s success and happiness, but adopt measures against potential adversity in the future.
In ancient Rome, Scipio Africanus (236-183 BC) achieved an immense success as a general by defeating Hannibal, but later faced heavy opposition and had to go into exile. Despite his success, Scipio failed to do better than Hannibal (247-183 BC), who had also ended up in exile.
Montaigne is recommending us to adopt countermeasures in order to protect our happiness. Personal growth is a process of action and reaction, but this should not prevent us from taking early action to reduce potential damages.
Montaigne: thoughtfulness and personal growth
Countermeasures should be rational and proportionate. It all comes down to enjoying the present while protecting the future in the key areas of our life.
I must underline the qualifiers “rational and proportionate” because, without those, the countermeasures might overshoot. We do not want to imitate Diogenes of Sinope (412-323 BC), who chose a lifestyle of permanent poverty in order to prevent the potential pain of losing any wealth he might have acquired.
Montaigne calls for thoughtful, measured actions. Those are ideal for keeping one’s personal growth going in good and bad times.
“We must learn to endure the adversities we cannot avoid,” wrote Montaigne, but at the same time, we should take strong action to minimise those and protect our happiness.
If you are interested in applying rational principles to all sort of situations, I recommend you my book titled “The 10 principles of rational living.”