I don’t consider myself a pacifist because I believe there are justifications for war. But I despise celebrations of war and everything about warrior culture. So if Montaigne is going to force me to read and write about the greatness of Julius Caesar in two consecutive essays, then I’m going to digress and give weight…

Sometimes it’s difficult to tell when Montaigne is examining an issue straight up or if he’s doing it with a wink and a nod. This essay is a very clear example of the latter. I don’t even need to consult Montaigne scholars on this one, it’s obvious what he’s up to. Just take a look…

In some ways, I find Seneca to be a worthy role model. He wasn’t just a Stoic philosopher and dramatist; he was a highly influential government speechwriter, even advising a Roman Emperor the same way that Theodore Sorenson served John F. Kennedy. However, that Emperor was Nero and no matter how much good advice Seneca…

Montaigne’s treatment of anger relies heavily on stoicism and is therefore unsurprising. He provides some guidance about when and how anger should manifest, but I found this piece of advice towards the end of the essay the best: This is the bargain I strike with those who may have to contend with me: when you…

it’s always a perilous endeavor to examine Montaigne’s faith. This is where we see him at most slippery. In one respect, Montaigne clearly is a Roman Catholic. He believes in sticking with the whatever authority exists in any country at any particular time, that holds for both political authority and religious. He was horrified by…

Throughout his essays, Montaigne warns about using law to shape human behavior—he thinks it’s at least a waste of time and potentially an oppressive ethos. He doesn’t think human beings are capable of such constant virtue: I find from experience that there is a difference between the leaps and sallies of the soul and a…