After devoting twenty years of his life to writing essays, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) had great expectations for the future. He believed that his essays would appeal to a large public and influence future generations.

History has proven Montaigne right but not in the manner he had expected. His essays did find a large audience, but their philosophical influence has been negligible. His quotations do appeal to truth-seekers, but they have seldom change anyone’s life.

Montaigne’s curiosity and verbosity led to a vast output, but every page he wrote contains hesitations and inconsistencies. I admire his ability to pour out essays on every subject under the sun, but I am not blind to their inconclusiveness.

When it comes to Montaigne’s cultural impact, in particular on French literature, I must point out to the four key insights conveyed by Montaigne’s essays.

Montaigne’s influence on Blaise Pascal

[1] First, a general belief in God’s benevolence, and that it’s up to each person to discover it and lead a virtuous life. I must though state that Montaigne was not a religious fanatic and did not like fanatics of any kind. He repeatedly called for tolerance and respect of minority beliefs.

The French philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) proved a worthy intellectual heir to Montaigne in this respect. Pascal’s main work, his “Reflections” (in French, “Pensees”) resumes a discussion that Montaigne had barely initiated.

I’m referring to the justification of religious faith in a world that is dominated by injustice. In the sixteenth century, war and religious prosecution were omnipresent in Europe. Montaigne had witnessed those with his own eyes, and knew of their dire consequences.

In his “Reflections,” Pascal took over the thread initiated by Montaigne and came up with a probabilistic argument for faith. Pascal recommended people to remain faithful to Christianity just in case the Bible proved true and God would examine our souls on Judgement Day.

Even if the Bible proved wrong, we would still benefit from leading a virtuous life. Even if there is no God, no Judgement Day, and no Heaven and Hell, we would still be happier if we adopt sound ethical principles.

In addition to influencing Pascal’s ideas, Montaigne’s essays also influenced Pascal’s style. Both Pascal and Montaigne use their personal experience and observations as arguments, and both employ ancient quotations to support their conclusions.

I must however point out that Montaigne quoted primarily ancient classical Greek and Roman authors such as Seneca (4 BC-AD 65), Plutarch (46-120 AD), Julius Caesar (100-44 BC), and Cicero (106-43 BC). In contrast, Pascal quoted the Bible on many occasions.

Montaigne’s influence on Rene Descartes

[2] Montaigne’s scepticism about knowledge and certainty influenced the philosopher Rene Descartes (1596-1650), also born in France, although he would later emigrate in search of intellectual freedom.

Descartes viewed Montaigne’s scepticism as a valid starting point, but did not stop there. Instead of giving up all search for certainty, Descartes kept looking for anchors. He kept looking for arguments upon which to establish philosophical certainty.

In “Meditations on Primary Philosophy,” published in 1641, Descartes leaves behind Montaigne’s scepticism, and attempts to build an unassailable logical chain.

Descartes starts with the certainty of his own existence and thinking abilities, and puts forward a chain of deductions. His philosophy calls for overcoming scepticism by relying on facts that are self-evident and incontestable.

Montaigne’s influence on Descartes’ philosophy waned in the ensuing decade. Descartes increasingly called for certainty, and lost interest in scepticism. In the end, he found scepticism as barely worth discussing.

Montaigne’s influence on Voltaire

[3] Montaigne’s cultural relativism exerted strong influence on the works of Voltaire (1694-1778), but in a direction that no one would have expected. The four generations that separate Montaigne from Voltaire had opened the door to acerbic social criticism, far beyond anything that Montaigne had witnessed.

When writing his essay “On Cannibals,” Montaigne referred to records of European explorers in Brazil, and their comments on primitive tribes. In this manner, Montaigne was mentioning facts that supported the argument of ethical relativism.

Voltaire goes far beyond because he did not even bother to look for facts; he didn’t even pretend to quote scientific sources or historical records.

Instead of sticking to the facts, Voltaire employs cultural relativism as a literary device, for instance, in his short stories “Candide” and “L’Ingenu” (translated as “The Naive” or “The Savage”).

The voyages of Candide in Europe and America only serve to condemn cruelty and stupidity. Similarly, the observations made by L’Ingenu in Europe only serve to condemn prejudice and narrow-mindedness.

Voltaire took over the trend started by Montaigne, pushed it forward, and expanded it for the purposes of satire. I must say that, still today, Voltaire’s works remain masterpieces of social criticism.

Montaigne’s influence on Marcel Proust

[4] Montaigne began a trend of literary introspection, which anticipated the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). In terms of French literature, the link between Montaigne and psychoanalysis is the novelist Marcel Proust (1871-1922), who wrote voluminous works based on his personal memories.

I personally view Proust’s novels as insufferable boring, but they have the merit of exploring new paths in literature. Proust was familiar with Montaigne’s essays, but in his novel titled “In Search of Lost Time,” he did not try to emulate Montaigne.

Proust simply enjoyed writing his lengthy narratives, awash with details of social mores, prejudice and homely pleasures. It is the type of novels that appeal to sociologists and historians, but few modern readers have the patience to read them in full.

Montaigne had indeed exerted influence on Proust, but it is not a positive, beneficial influence. Proust had overlooked or forgotten the original purpose of introspection, namely, to give strength to a philosophical argument.

Instead of using introspection for a worthy purpose, Proust keeps meandering for pages on end without getting anywhere. I understand what Montaigne was doing, even if he sometimes got his conclusions wrong, but I fail to see Proust’s objective in his prolific descriptions of everyday events.

Assessment of Montaigne’s cultural influence

[5] In conclusion, Montaigne’s works have been widely read and imitated in France, but few imitators had attained the level of the original. Montaigne had kept his introspection, cultural relativism, faith and introspection in balance.

Those characteristics had rendered his essays colourful and unique, which is something I miss in works by Blaise Pascal, Rene Descartes, or Marcel Proust. Only Voltaire has surpassed Montaigne in terms of sharpness and daring, bringing literature to a higher echelon of subtlety.

If you are interested in applying rational principles to all sort situations here and now, I recommend you my book titled “Thriving in difficult times.”