The essay titled “Of the Useful and the Honourable” offers a compelling illustration of the literary legacy left by Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). The essay begins without a clear goal, but quickly adopts a determinedly ethical position, and piles up evidence to support it. I view this essay as a compelling illustration of Montaigne’s work because it balances out the stylistic, educational, ethical, and historical elements used by Montaigne for two decades. Let us pass review to those elements, and see how they have shaped Montaigne’s literary legacy. I’m going to cover four key elements: the method for dealing with uncertainty, the ethical awareness, the call to mistrust virtue signalling, and to figure out people’s real motivations. Montaigne gives readers a valuable method for dealing with uncertainty. He had no qualms about confessing that he didn’t know the answer to certain questions, and in this respect, I place him together with Socrates (469-399 BC). For the first time in history, a writer committed himself to thinking things through, but without claiming to know the right answers. Montaigne’s intellectual modesty brings fresh air in a historical period of narrow-mindedness, hatred, and religious, persecution. The essay “Of the Useful and the Honourable” shows that it is difficult to assess our own actions when we face conflicting interests. Montaigne ponders whether the narration by Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) of his conquest of Gaul portrays the facts fairly, or whether it contains self-serving statements. History shows how Caesar became increasingly motivated by ambition more than by principles. As he went forward, his focus shifted from the honourable to the useful, which explains why he ended up being assassinated. In contrast to Caesar’s moral decay, Montaigne is providing readers a solid method for navigate troubled waters: We should take step back and analyse our own motives before taking key decisions. Here is a link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/key-elements-of-michel-de-montaignes-literary-legacy/