I consider the French essayist Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) one of the most underrated philosophers in history. He is not on the same level as Aristotle, Plato and Socrates, but when it comes to personal development, he is one of the best.
Montaigne was born in southern France within a family that belonged to the lower aristocracy. His father had made a small fortune as a wholesaler and purchased a large countryside manor and the surrounding land.
His father had a deep interest in classical ideals, and hired a tutor to teach Michel de Montaigne at home how to speak and read Latin. As soon as he learned the first words, he was asked to speak only Latin at home.
As a result, Michel de Montaigne became fluent in Latin at an early age. His tutor introduced him to the works of Cicero (106-43 BC) and Seneca (4 BC-65 AD), which he read many times. They would later give shape to his personal philosophy and his literary style.
His early biographers tell us that Michel de Montaigne was once sent by his father to live for a year with nearby peasants, so that he would acquire simple tastes and learn humility, but I give little credence to the story.
I find difficult to believe that his father was willing to hire a tutor to accelerate Michel de Montaigne’s learning and, at the same time, he was willing to send him for a year to live in an environment of total cultural deprivation.
If Michel de Montaigne was sent at all to live with nearby peasants, the experience must have been fairly short, so that it would not interfere with his Latin education.
Michel de Montaigne at the College de Guyenne
Montaigne learned to read and write at home, but did not go to school until fairly late. When he turned six, his father sent him to the College de Guyenne in the closest city, Bordeaux.
The education program of the College de Guyenne revolved around the Latin language and the study of Latin authors. They also taught ancient Greek, but with a lower emphasis.
Despite the seven years spent at the College de Guyenne, Montaigne never became fluent in Greek. He could read it only with difficulty. Later on, in his personal library, he would own Latin translations of ancient Greek authors such as Aristotle or Plato.
Montaigne was thirteen years old when he graduated from the College de Guyenne to study law at the University. He completed his legal studies in three years, which was the usual duration of a university degree in the sixteenth century.
At that time, the legal studies program consisted mainly of Roman law (property law, contracts, tort, civil procedure) and French family law, criminal law and court practices.
Immediately after graduating, Montaigne entered the lowest rang of the legal profession. He was sixteen at that time. After an apprenticeship and practice period of five years, he obtained a position of legal council at the Bordeaux Parliament, which also acted as appellate court for civil and administrative cases.
Michel de Montaigne as a legal counsellor in Bordeaux
During his legal practitioner years, Montaigne witnessed the growing tensions in France between Catholics and Protestants. The tensions began with cases of confiscation, discrimination, and mistreatment, and eventually turned to all-out war in 1562.
The hostilities lasted thirty-six years, until 1598. Montaigne never saw the end of the war. He reflected at times whether it would have been possible to prevent or shorten the war, but in all fairness, to end the war was beyond Montaigne’s power. He did take part in a conciliation attempt, but it was to no avail.
In 1558, when Montaigne was twenty-five years old, he met Etienne de La Boetie (1530-1563), who would become his best friend. De La Boetie was also employed as legal counsellor in the Bordeaux Parliament.
De la Boetie was only slightly younger than Montaigne, but far more knowledgeable about history and political theory. He had written an essay titled “Discourse on Voluntary Servitude” in which he theorized about the psychological underpinnings of monarchies.
Their friendship lasted only five years due to the untimely death of De La Boetie. He contracted an infection and died at thirty-three. Even for sixteenth-century standards, his lifespan was extremely short.
Michel de Montaigne’s momentous decision
Montaigne’s father passed away five years later than De La Boetie, in 1568, when Montaigne was thirty-five year old. The inheritance consisted primarily of the large manor (“chateau”) with the surrounding land, where various crops could be planted.
Historians sometimes describe the manor as a “castle,” but their terminology might convey a false impression. Indeed, the manor was fairly large and possessed a tower resembling a mediaeval castle, but it was a manor nonetheless. The French word “chateau” can be translated as castle and as manor.
Let me underline that the inheritance didn’t turn Montaigne into a millionaire by today’s standards. Normally, a man in his position would have opted for keeping his employment as legal counsellor in Bordeaux, drawing some additional income from the farm.
However, Montaigne took the opposite decision. Instead of keeping his prestigious position at the Bordeaux Parliament, he quit and retired to live in the countryside manor.
I have used the expression “he quit” instead of saying that “he handed in his resignation,” but neither of them is accurate. Actually, Montaigne sold his legal counsellor position for cash, as it was normally done in the sixteenth century.
The position was purchased by a qualified lawyer who had either received funding from his family or borrowed the money with the intention of repaying the loan with his future earnings.
Montaigne’s decision is intriguing because few individuals would have abandoned a promising legal career in Bordeaux to go and live in a countryside manor far from everything. The decision is worth analysing because it contains an important lesson.
I’ll continue with Montaigne’s biography in my next article.
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