What we call “humanistic” nowadays has little to do with the work of humanists in the sixteenth century, such as Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). They were digging into the past in order to regain concepts that had been lost. They were fighting against centuries of intellectual distortion, misrepresentations, and contradictions. Montaigne would devote dozens of hours to compose a little essay such as “On the parsimony of the ancients.” He would read and reread ancient sources such as Plutarch, Seneca and Cicero; and he would formulate his conclusions carefully and politely to prevent unnecessary conflicts. Nowadays, few people are doing that. Instead, they assume that their “humanism” is somehow automatic. They believe that they know the truth implicitly, without having to do any research. Those individuals are arrogant enough to categorise their beliefs as “humanistic” even if they brazenly contradict all ancient Greek and Roman authors and twenty-five centuries of historical experience. Humanism is something very different. It’s what Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) did in his essay “On the parsimony of the ancients.” He employed his erudition in ancient Greek and Roman history to identify the ideal lifestyle, that is, the habits more likely to lead to happiness. Montaigne doesn’t care about parsimony (economy, thrift, modesty, penny-pinching, humility) as such. His exploration is going much further than human economic behaviour. The key goal of Montaigne is to identify virtue in general terms. Like every worthy writer, Montaigne is looking for a recipe for success and happiness. He employs his knowledge of the ancient Greek and Roman lifestyle in order to criticise his own contemporaries. Montaigne praises the alleged parsimony of ancient times, so that he can reject the waste and excesses in his own century. His historical research (humanism in practice) prompts him to recommend simplicity, frugality and austerity. It also leads him to reject material excess as destructive. According to Montaigne, ancient parsimony was dictated by philosophical principles, not by lack of resources. Seneca and Marcus Aurelius could have spent much more money than they did. They embraced moderation and self-restraint in order to prevent their own moral decay. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/michel-de-montaigne-and-humanistic-ideas/

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