How to Live

Michel de Montaigne invented the essay genre, focusing on private life and introspection rather than historical events. Living through civil wars, he explored the fundamental question, "How to live?" His Essais—meaning "to try" or "to test"—created a vivid self-portrait, detailing his experiences and feelings to reflect universal human struggles, making his work a continuous conversation across centuries.

Montaigne initially feared death, intensified by personal losses. A near-fatal riding accident profoundly shifted his perspective, revealing death as a tranquil drifting away. This led to his most fundamental answer: "Don’t worry about death." Retiring, he began writing his Essays to inspect his "mad reveries," observing his inner experience with intense precision and capturing the "stream of consciousness."

Montaigne cultivated a love for reading Ovid and Plutarch, prioritizing pleasure over systematic study. He famously claimed a monstrously deficient memory and a slow wit, which he leveraged to attain clear judgment and conceal bold ideas, combating zealotry. As a magistrate, he criticized the legal system's pedantry, advocating for judges to acknowledge their imperfections and slow decision-making, reflecting his skeptical approach.

Montaigne's marriage to Françoise de La Chassaigne was conventional but mildly unsatisfactory, leading him to seek refuge from domestic noise. He admired Socrates's forbearance with a nagging wife and developed the concept of a "back shop" or private room for solitude and self-reflection. This allowed him to detach from obligations and prepare for loss, crucial amidst his personal tragedies and political responsibilities.

Montaigne valued convivial conversation and open debate, asserting "no belief offended him." His estate welcomed all, even during war, reflecting his belief in free communication. He championed cultural relativism, using accounts of Tupinambá Indians to highlight the arbitrariness of European customs and undermine claims of superiority. Profoundly revulsed by cruelty, he argued for justice for humans and kindness to all creatures, embodying a "gay and sociable wisdom."

Montaigne consistently valued temperance and moderation, preferring an "ordinate" life over extremes like poetic ecstasy, a stance rebellious in his era. He believed true greatness lay in mediocrity, embracing the ordinary human condition. His unconventional writing, described as "grotesques," focused intensely on his internal life, creating a unique, formless style that made his personality the book’s unifying core. This literary journey led to increased self-discovery and celebrity.

The Essays have an endlessly evolving legacy, shaped by continuous additions and diverse interpretations. The "editing wars" surrounding Marie de Gournay's definitive edition versus the "Bordeaux Copy" illustrate the challenge of a fixed text, confirming the impossibility of a single, unchallengeable version. Montaigne recognized authors lose control post-publication, believing an "able reader" could imbue his work with richer meanings than intended, ensuring the book's constant rebirth.

Montaigne's final illness and death in 1592, though physically distressing, potentially brought him the peaceful detachment he sought. His posthumous remains experienced chaotic movements, fitting for a man who understood life's flux. Ultimately, Montaigne's lasting legacy and closest statement to "how to live" was the profound realization that life itself should be an aim and purpose unto itself, continuously providing its own answer.