Montaigne on Friendship: Philosophical Roots and Sources
Why did Michel de Montaigne write so passionately about friendship? And which philosophical traditions whispered to him about the true meaning of human connection? His celebrated essay on friendship is not an isolated meditation — it is a tapestry woven from ancient wisdom, personal loss, and Renaissance humanism. The thinkers and traditions that shaped this text still resonate powerfully within brotherhoods such as Freemasonry, offering insights that are as relevant today as they were in the sixteenth century. Which Classical Philosophers Influenced Montaigne the Most? Montaigne was a voracious reader of classical texts. His library, housed in the tower of his château, contained works by Greek and Roman thinkers that he read and reread throughout his life. For his reflections on friendship, he drew most heavily on Aristotle, who distinguished three kinds of friendship in the Nicomachean Ethics: friendships based on utility, on pleasure, and on virtue. Only the last — the friendship between good people who admire each other’s character — did Aristotle consider complete and enduring. But did Montaigne fully agree? Not quite. He went further than Aristotle by arguing that the highest friendship transcends even the friendship of virtue. The bond he described with his friend Étienne […]