Michel de Montaigne’s biography (3 of 5): dealing with chronic illness

08/05/2025 6 min Episodio 141
Michel de Montaigne’s biography (3 of 5): dealing with chronic illness

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Episode Synopsis

People always show their true colours in times of crisis. We can then recognise our true friends, true priorities, and the best and worst parts of our own character. Hardship makes the hero come forth, while the cowards sink into misery. Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) faced the hardest period in his life precisely when he was expecting to enjoy the easiest. He had quit his stressful job in Bordeaux and retired to live in the countryside, expecting to lead a quiet, predictable lifestyle. Unfortunately, his began to suffer from kidney stones in his early forties and the pain only got worse over time. It did not help to try the herbal remedies recommended by Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179), a German nun that had written a detailed handbook of home medicine. Montaigne was forty-seven years old when he published his essays, which comprised ninety-four titles. Most of them don’t take more than ten pages; the first edition of the essays saw the light in Bordeaux. By far, the longest work in the collection is the “Apology for Raymond Sebond,” a theological defence that pre-dates the other titles by a decade. Montaigne had written this work while he was still practising law in Bordeaux. After the publication of the essays, Montaigne undertook a journey across Europe in the hope of finding a remedy for his kidney stones. The physicians he had consulted in France had not been able to alleviate his pain, but they had told him about thermal waters in central Europe and Italy as possible cures. Even with a generous budget, travel in the sixteenth century was uncomfortable and dangerous. Travellers had to take with them gold and silver coins to procure horses, food and lodging, but those coins turned them into targets for criminals; and even in the best weather conditions, the speed of travel was slow. Montaigne travelled accompanied by a few servants who doubled as guards. Those rendered his trip safer, but not faster. It was a long journey, interrupted by six-week stays at spas in Germany and Switzerland. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/michel-de-montaignes-biography-dealing-with-chronic-illness/