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Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to recognize when you're following trends versus making reasoned choices by observing the pattern of passionate certainty that shifts with social pressure.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you defend something you criticized last year, or ask yourself what opinion you held five years ago that you've completely forgotten about.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Key Quotes & Analysis
"When they wore the busk of their doublets up as high as their breasts, they stiffly maintained that they were in their proper place; some years after it was slipped down betwixt their thighs, and then they could laugh at the former fashion as uneasy and intolerable."
Context: Describing how people passionately defend current fashion trends
This perfectly captures human psychology - we don't just prefer current styles, we convince ourselves they're objectively better and mock our past selves. Montaigne shows this applies to all beliefs, not just clothing.
In Today's Words:
People will swear their current style is obviously the best, then a few years later act like anyone who dressed that way was an idiot.
"I should willingly pardon our people for admitting no other pattern or rule of perfection than their own peculiar manners and customs; for 'tis a common vice, not of the vulgar only, but almost of all men."
Context: Opening the essay with his main observation about human nature
Montaigne acknowledges this isn't just a problem for uneducated people - even smart, educated people fall into this trap. He's being honest about universal human weakness.
In Today's Words:
I get why people think their way of doing things is the only right way - pretty much everyone does this, not just ignorant people.
"A man would think there was a certain kind of madness crept in amongst them, that infatuates their understandings to this strange degree."
Context: Describing how completely people abandon old beliefs for new ones
Montaigne uses strong language - 'madness' and 'infatuates' - to show how irrational this behavior really is when you step back and observe it objectively.
In Today's Words:
It's like people go temporarily insane and completely forget they ever thought differently.
Thematic Threads
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Montaigne shows how people passionately defend whatever customs are currently popular, then mock those same customs later
Development
Expanded from earlier chapters to show how social pressure creates false certainty
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself defending workplace policies you privately think are stupid just because they're current practice
Identity
In This Chapter
Our sense of what's 'right' or 'normal' shifts completely based on what society currently accepts
Development
Builds on earlier themes of self-knowledge by showing how external forces shape internal beliefs
In Your Life:
You might realize your strong opinions about parenting or relationships are just absorbed from your current social circle
Class
In This Chapter
Different social groups develop different customs, each convinced their way is obviously superior
Development
Continues exploration of how social position shapes perspective
In Your Life:
You might notice how your family's way of handling money or conflict feels 'natural' until you encounter other approaches
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
True growth requires stepping back from social pressure to examine beliefs independently
Development
Advances the theme by showing intellectual independence as a learnable skill
In Your Life:
You might start questioning which of your strong convictions are actually just temporary social programming
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Montaigne says we defend current fashions passionately, then mock them years later. Can you think of a belief or practice you once felt certain about but now see differently?
analysis • surface - 2
Why do you think we forget our previous beliefs so completely when our opinions change? What makes us so confident that our current views are the 'right' ones?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see this pattern of 'mistaking customs for truths' playing out in your workplace, family, or community today?
application • medium - 4
How could you tell the difference between a principle worth defending and a temporary custom you're just following because everyone else does?
application • deep - 5
What does Montaigne's observation about Roman customs teach us about human nature and our relationship to social pressure?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
The Time Traveler Test
Pick something you feel strongly about right now—a workplace rule, parenting approach, or social expectation. Imagine explaining this belief to someone from 100 years ago and someone from 100 years in the future. Write down what each person might find confusing or ridiculous about your position. Then identify what core principle (if any) remains constant across all three time periods.
Consider:
- •Notice when you feel defensive about explaining your position—that's often a sign you're defending custom rather than principle
- •Pay attention to which parts of your belief seem obviously universal versus culturally specific
- •Consider whether the core value could be expressed differently in different times and places
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you changed your mind about something important. What triggered the change? How did you feel about your previous belief afterward? What does this reveal about how social pressure shapes your thinking?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 50: Two Ways to See the World
Next, Montaigne introduces us to two ancient philosophers with completely opposite approaches to life's absurdities—one who laughed at human folly, another who wept over it. Their contrasting responses reveal something profound about how we choose to face an uncertain world.
