Book Review-How to Live or A Life of Montaigne (In One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer) by Sarah Bakewell

I had always been interested in the Essays by Montaigne but have been intimidated by the task of reading the tome. As it turns out, my hesitancy was warranted, as Sarah Bakewell explains in this extraordinary book, as Montaigne apparently continually edited the book during his lifetime, amending the Essays over his entire lifetime. To add further complications, the different editions of the Essays were completed at the discretion of many different publishers, with many varying agendas. The book has also gone through many cycles of popularity, ranging from complete public adoration to banishment, riding on the waves of popular opinion throughout European history. It had also appeared on the Catholic church’s list of banned books at one time. This book approaches the subject of Essays and the author Montaigne from multiple points of departure: it is at once a history of the Essays; a biography of Montaigne, his family, and those who were close to him; a travelogue detailing the places that Montaigne had visited; a history of the Dordogne region and France during Montaigne’s time living there; a concise explanation of the Greek philosophies that inspired Montaigne: Stoicism, Skepticism, and Epicureanism; and finally a work of philosophy which tries to encapsulates Montaigne’s guiding principles of life. It is no wonder that this book has met with critical success: the prose is welcoming to any level of reader, the historical backgrounds that is necessary to understand the story is included in the text, so the reader will not be lost in the narrative due to a lack of supporting information, and the multiple threads of topics have been interwoven skillfully to maximize reader interest. When I first started reading the book, I took it upon myself to glean the philosophical lessons that is presented by Bakewell, and there are plenty, twenty to be exact; but that is the worst way to read this book. It wasn’t until I was well into the book that I proceeded to relax while reading and took in those stories that Bakewell had included as the nuggets of gold to be enjoyed rather than extraneous information that pads the text. Once I came to that realization, I learned to love the style of the book and I was able to allow myself to fall in love with this great story, as well as learn lessons in history in Montagne’s time, philosophy, and history of philosophy. Indeed, it was Bakewell’s skillful weaving of all the multiple threads into the narrative that seduced me into the book. The twenty answers which made up the chapters melted into a natural progression of Montaigne’s story, which made their philosophical lessons even more cogent. I wish now that I were not so dogmatic in my zeal to view the book as solely a work of philosophy, I wish that I were open minded to what Bakewell was trying to do. She was entirely successful in what she had plotted, it was just that I was initially a fool to impose my sense of structure to the book. The lesson is that I needed to let the author lead me through the book the way they want to tell the story. I have learned my lesson and I will willingly let Sarah Bakewell lead me through anything she writes.

Observations-Memorial Day 2021

As is the habit on Memorial Days, people are expressing their gratitude for those who have sacrificed their lives in defense of this nation. The tributes range from simple statements of thanks to elaborate postings on social media and displays of thanks in their front yards in the form of flags and other tributes.

What has always nagged at me has been the question: is this it? Is this all that we can do? Or is this all that we are willing to sacrifice in recognition of those who have given their lives, the ultimate sacrifice?

It seems incongruent to me that in view of the gravity of the sacrifices that we are commemorating, all we do in response is to have sales on merchandise that none of us truly need, have barbecues, and consume massive quantities of alcohol. It is also the marking of the beginning of Summer, which is also seemingly incongruent.

It is beyond ironic that we commemorate the past deeds of heroism by celebrating so frivolously. Yet, that is in keeping with the nature of our habits as a nation. We invoke the past to inspire and to lecture those who are still living on the importance of duty, on the meaning of living in a democracy, and on the demands of being a citizen; yet when it comes to living those lessons, on demonstrating that we have, indeed, internalized those lessons, we abdicate our responsibilities to the democracy. Instead, we behave more in keeping with celebrating the beginning the Summer than with commemorating the sacrifices that brought us our prosperity.

In this Summer of 2021, after having gone through the year 2020 and having suffered through a pandemic and inept handling of that pandemic, one would think that giving thanks and remembering those who had sacrificed their lives in service to us would be foremost on our minds. Yet all I see is wanton disregard for the gravitas of the occasion, selfish indulgence of our perceived privileges that was a gift from those who we should be memorializing, and selective amnesia of our past in deference to the worship of a mythological glory that never was.

I know this next thought might be unpopular, but I think it is worthy of proposing. It is estimated, as of April 2021, that 3,500 healthcare workers in the US have perished from COVID-19 in leading the fight against the virus. The WHO estimates that 115,000 healthcare workers  worldwide have perished in the battle to keep people alive. In examining their motivation as they gave up their lives for the masses, I see similarities between those who died in battle in defense of our freedom and those who died in defense of our health. There was great uncertainty in knowing who their enemies are for both groups. Both groups stepped into the void fully understanding the probability of their demise was great, yet both groups stepped up and were willing to be counted as those who have put their lives on the line. One could not ask for more from those we seek to commemorate. I see no conflict in adding those lost healthcare professionals to the rolls of lost in battle.

On another note. Viktor Frankl, in his defining book Man’s Search for Meaning. (Frankl 2006) expounds on the relevance of meaning in the daily lives of every human being. It is a profound and ruminative exposition on our ultimate purpose in life: to have meaning in what we do daily. In that spirit, I would propose that we give up our oft repeated profession of gratitude, which often sound hollow and trite because of the repetitiveness of the mantra. We should, instead, dedicate ourselves to give meaning to the lives of the deceased. We, as the beneficiary of their sacrifice, should demonstrate our gratitude by taking their spirit of serving for the good of society and expand the spirit in which they gave their lives, magnify the generosity of their gift to humankind, and seek to sacrifice our comfort and privilege for the good of our society.

President Obama had called for every MLK Jr Day observance be a national day of public service. While that action has been minimized by the previous administration, we should be mindful of the thought and spirit of that idea and propagate that idea through the rest of history. Why not have opportunities for service be available for all who wish to take part? Indeed, why not make all the officially recognized national holidays be opportunities for public service? It gives us meaning, as Frankl proposed; it removes the sense of hypocrisy that comes with celebrating the real sacrifices those who gave their lives for our society with grilling meats and consuming copious amounts of alcohol; and it benefits our society.

Alas, I am an optimist with both feet planted on the ground. I don’t foresee this idea coming to fruition because of the polarization of our society along too many divisive fault lines. What I can do is to put my skin in the game, I will try to do a little bit each holiday, partly to assuage my own guilt and mostly because I see this as doing the right thing. I hope to be doing this without fanfare and self-indulgence because sacrifices are more meaningful with it is not recognized. Every little bit contributes to the greater good, as I search for meaning in my life.

 

Works Cited

Frankl, Viktor. Man's Search for Meaning. Beacon Press, 2006.