The Philosophical Rebel: 15 Fascinating Facts About Michel de Montaigne

1. He Invented a Brand New Literary Genre Called the "Essay"

Before Montaigne, formal writing was rigid, academic, and authoritative. In 1580, Montaigne published his groundbreaking work titled Essais, deriving from the French verb essayer, meaning "to try" or "to attempt." Rather than presenting finalized, dogmatic truths, Montaigne viewed his writings as tentative intellectual trials and self-experiments. He was the very first author to give this personal, open-ended style of prose its name. His innovative approach transformed literature by allowing writers to explore ideas fluidly without needing to reach definitive conclusions.

2. His Father Raised Him in a Radical Latin-Only Environment

Montaigne’s early education was an extraordinarily unusual humanist experiment devised by his father, Pierre Eyquem. From infancy, Montaigne was placed under the care of a German doctor and tutors who spoke to him exclusively in Latin. His family members and household servants were also forbidden from speaking French in the boy's presence, forced to learn basic Latin phrases just to communicate with him. As a result, Montaigne spoke Latin fluently before he could speak a single word of his native French. This immersive upbringing steeped him in classical antiquity from his earliest memories.

3. He Built a Sanctuary Tower Inscribed with Classical Quotes

To escape public life and focus on reflection, Montaigne retired to his family estate in 1571 and constructed a private library in a circular tower. Suspended high above his château, this sanctuary contained over one thousand books, a rare luxury for an individual at the time. To constantly remind himself of human limitation and wisdom, he had 54 philosophical quotes in Greek and Latin painted directly onto the wooden ceiling beams. Among these painted maxims were excerpts from Ecclesiastes, Lucretius, and Sextus Empiricus. This secluded room served as the physical and intellectual birthplace for nearly all of his essays.

4. His Personal Motto Was "What Do I Know?"

At the heart of Montaigne’s philosophical worldview was a deep commitment to Pyrrhonian skepticism and intellectual humility. He adopted the famous French motto "Que sais-je?"—which translates to "What do I know?"—to encapsulate his rejection of absolute certainty. Montaigne believed that human reason was inherently frail and prone to arrogance, leading people to embrace rigid dogmas without evidence. To physically signify this personal philosophy, he had a medal minted featuring his motto alongside a balanced pair of scales. His defense of doubt paved the way for modern Enlightenment thinking.

5. He Wondered If His Cat Was Secretly Mocking Him

Montaigne was one of the earliest Western philosophers to candidly examine animal consciousness without human vanity. In his lengthiest essay, "An Apology for Raymond Sebond," he penned one of his most celebrated and endearing observations: "When I play with my cat, who knows if I am not a pastime to her more than she is to me?" Rather than assuming humans were superior beings positioned at the center of the universe, Montaigne suggested animals possessed their own rich inner lives. This whimsical observation challenged centuries of anthropocentric theology and philosophy.

6. He Pioneer-Tested Cultural Relativism in "Of Cannibals"

During an era defined by European colonial conquest and brutal religious violence, Montaigne published his astonishingly progressive essay "Of Cannibals" (Des Cannibales). After reading travel accounts and personally interviewing Indigenous Tupinambá people brought to France from Brazil, Montaigne defended their way of life. He famously argued that European society, with its tortures, religious executions, and hypocrisy, was far more barbaric than the practices of Indigenous tribes. This revolutionary perspective introduced the concept of cultural relativism to Western thought, insisting that societies should not be judged solely through the lens of one's own customs.

7. A Violent Horseback Accident Transformed His Views on Death

In his mid-thirties, Montaigne suffered a terrifying riding accident when a servant on a charging horse accidentally rammed into him full-speed, throwing him violently to the ground. Montaigne was knocked unconscious, vomited blood, and hovered on the brink of death for several hours. This near-death experience profoundly altered his relationship with mortality, transforming his terror of dying into a peaceful acceptance. He realized that the transition into death was gradual and painless rather than agonizing, leading him to write that we should not fear the natural process of dying.

8. He Unashamedly Detailed His Bowel Habits and Bodily Functions

Montaigne shattered literary taboos by discussing the unvarnished realities of the human body alongside lofty philosophical arguments. He wrote openly about his flatulence, digestion, sexual performance, and personal hygiene, believing that ignoring physical functions was a foolish form of pride. In his writings, he argued that even the grandest kings and intellectuals are ultimately subject to the same lowly bodily needs as everyone else. By normalizing everyday physical experiences, Montaigne demystified the human condition and brought philosophy down to earth.

9. William Shakespeare Was Heavily Influenced by His Writings

English readers gained access to Montaigne’s work in 1603 when John Florio translated the Essais into English. William Shakespeare was deeply captivated by the book, and Montaigne's ideas leave unmistakable fingerprints across the playwright's later works. Most famously, Gonzalo's speech about an ideal utopian society in The Tempest directly paraphrases passages from Montaigne's "Of Cannibals." Furthermore, Hamlet’s introspective soliloquies reflect Montaigne’s digressive self-examination and skeptical questioning of human existence.

10. He Served as Mayor of Bordeaux During the French Wars of Religion

Despite his strong desire for quiet contemplation, Montaigne was a respected public servant who was elected Mayor of Bordeaux in 1581 without even seeking the role. He served two two-year terms during a period of intense crisis marked by the French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Protestants. Montaigne managed to remain moderate and pragmatic, working tirelessly to preserve peace and prevent bloody sectarian uprisings within the city walls. He successfully balanced his public civic duties with his private devotion to philosophy.

11. He Acted as a High-Stakes Diplomatic Mediator for Kings

Montaigne's reputation for impartiality made him a trusted mediator during the bloody French Wars of Religion. He served as an informal advisor and negotiator between the Catholic King Henri III and the Protestant leader Henri of Navarre (who later converted to Catholicism to become King Henri IV). Montaigne was uniquely trusted by both rival factions because he refused to engage in fanatical partisanship. At one point, his political activities led to his brief imprisonment in the Bastille by Catholic League extremists, though the Queen Mother Catherine de' Medici promptly arranged his release.

12. He Traveled Across Europe Searching for Kidney Stone Relief

In 1578, Montaigne began suffering from severe kidney stones, an agonizing condition that had also afflicted his father. To seek relief, he embarked on a 17-month journey across France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy in 1580 and 1581 to visit famous mineral spa towns. Throughout his travels, Montaigne kept a meticulous personal travel journal detailing local customs, culinary traditions, religious practices, and the exact physical effects of various thermal waters. This journal was discovered in his château nearly two centuries after his death and published in 1774.

13. The Vatican Banned His Essays for Nearly Two Centuries

Although Montaigne remained a practicing Roman Catholic throughout his life, his essays frequently challenged religious orthodoxy and dogmatism. In 1676, decades after his death, the Roman Catholic Church placed Montaigne's Essais on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (Index of Forbidden Books). Church censors condemned his skeptical worldview, his empathetic view of non-Christian Indigenous cultures, and his belief that morality could exist independently of religious doctrine. The prohibition remained in place until the Index was officially abolished in 1966.

14. He Coined the Idea That Every Person Represents All of Humanity

Montaigne believed that by examining himself with complete honesty, he was simultaneously investigating the nature of human existence as a whole. In his final volume of essays, he wrote the famous line: "Every man bears the whole form of the human condition" (Chaque homme porte en soi la forme entière de l'humaine condition). This core principle was revolutionary because it asserted that an ordinary individual's internal life was worthy of serious study. It shifted Western philosophy away from abstract metaphysical theories toward psychological self-awareness.

15. His Writings Inspired Great Thinkers from Nietzsche to Virginia Woolf

Montaigne’s intimate, candid style profoundly impacted generations of thinkers, writers, and philosophers across centuries. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche declared that the existence of Montaigne's writings increased the joy of living on Earth. Essayists and novelists like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Virginia Woolf, and Stefan Zweig drew deep inspiration from Montaigne's conversational tone and courage to be vulnerable on the page. Today, media scholars frequently recognize Montaigne as the spiritual ancestor of modern blogging, memoir writing, and personal essay podcasts.