In his “Essays,” Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) often called for reason and tolerance. Those are distinctive features of humanism, together with critical thinking, a love of ancient history, and a strong preference for experience over theory. Montaigne was aware that sheer distance, whether temporal or geographical, can prompt people to suspicion. He wrote that “every person calls barbarous things that he is unaccustomed to.” Indeed, we tend to consider the opinions, customs, and prejudices of the country where we live to be correct. Humanism endorses precisely the opposite idea. It calls for open-mindedness and fairness when confronting new ideas. It’s sceptical of apparent truths until they have been subjected to a careful examination. I consider Montaigne’s essay “On some verses of Virgil” a great example of humanistic open-mindedness and fairness. Its exploration of ancient Roman mores doesn’t lead to immediate condemnation. Instead, it asks the right questions and looks for credible answers. The essay contains numerous quotations from Virgil (70-19 BC), the ancient Roman poet. The quotations are drawn from Virgil’s major work titled “Aeneid.” Curiously enough, Virgil himself was practising in “Aeneid” his own version of humanism by comparing recent events with older ones. He recounts the episode where Aeneas is visiting Carthage and encounters paintings about the Trojan War in a religious building. As a result, Aeneas begins to “shed tears for passed things and his mind is inundated with thoughts about death.” The incident gives Montaigne an excuse to quote a dozen other verses, where Virgil is making philosophical remarks or direct observations about life in ancient Rome. One of the most-widely quoted verses from Virgil is “Love conquers everything.” Montaigne philosophises about human nature in ancient and present times, concluding that love has remained a strong element in how we make decisions. Montaigne’s observations aren’t particularly profound when he chooses Virgil’s verses about basic human emotions. He exults the love of parents for their children as another strong, constant factor in society, and calls for children to reciprocate the love from their parents. Virgil had commended children to “look at their mother with a smile because she had carried them inside her for nine months.” Fair enough, Montaigne was as aware as Virgil was that not every child will behave lovingly and obediently. Concerning human nature, Montaigne quotes Virgil’s brief remark about women. It reads as follows: “Women tend to remain fickle and changeable.” Does this remark not denote gender prejudice? Montaigne compares the quotation with his own experience with women in the sixteenth century, that is, his contemporaries. Montaigne also reproduces a verse from Virgil about human insouciance and self-delusion. It refers to the tendency to keep our eyes closed or turn our heads when events don’t match our expectations. As Virgil noted, it’s dangerous to remain oblivious to danger and risks, even if obliviousness brings short-term comfort. This is the original quotation from Virgil: “How can you sleep in the middle of a crisis? Can you not see the dangers that threaten you?” Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/examples-of-michel-de-montaigne-and-humanism/