Montaigne's life was as admirable as Hume's. Its style was self-directedness, its attitude inwardness, its manner independence, and its project the Essays that recorded, formed, and reflected the way Montaigne thought and lived. He lived in difficult times and he left a lasting memorial of how to combine public and private life, set one's limits in a corrupt society, and deliberately control how one lives in the face of contingency and adversity.
Keywords: Montaigne, self-direction, inwardness, independence, corruption and adversity,