# chapter 1
about the fact that he is the patron saint of individuap thought. 
he was able to find a way to keep *himself* in the face of very hard circumstances

# chapter 2 
on the origins of his family and family name 
his family is Jewish 
his last name was actually Eyquem 

it took a few generations and a lot of money to become seigneur de montaigne

# chapter 3 
on his education 
his father built for him a very purposeful education.
sent to live with lumberjacks young, spoke only latin his first years, was awoken only by music

he had no practical skills in sport, music, handy work. 
was not very good at school. found it dry and without purpose. 
only showed his promise after puberty. 

# chapter 4
his father died. 
a couple of years later he retired to his home to think and understand who he was

he moved into the highest floor of the highest tower of the castle. 
moved his library there and decided to basically live there in isolation of the world including his family

a parallel is drawn between the tower and the idea of a "citadel" created by Goethe. 
it's a sort of "jardin secret" centered on the self in which no one may enter. 

# chapter 5
he read a lot in his tower. 
read so much that he had to start writing. 
be fun having a dialogue with the authors and had to pen his thoughts. 

he thought he was a terrible writer. 
yet, as soon as he published the first version of his essays he started going back and *perfecting* his previous work. 
Zweig thinks that he bowed to the pressures of what is expected from writers later in life. 

# chapter 6 
his bad memory forced him to just react to what he read. 
it reads like he changed opinion daily but it's just a person reacting to ideas. 

he was looking for his truth not the truth. 
this is **the** exercise he was try to accomplish.

his essays were said like the thought. 
he often wrote them in one sitting. 

# chapter 7 - en defense de la citadelle 
he protected individual thought above all else. 
he opposed himself with fervor to totalitarianism. 
"be and let be" is something you could say he lives by. 

# chapter 8
he made a mistake by retiring at 38. 
he thought he could isolate himself from everything. 
the environment caught up to him. 

he left to travel at 48. 
travelled for 17 months before coming back to Bordeaux. 
city which elected him mayor without him asking to be that. 
his trip was after the publication of his first two books. 

his travels had no goal. 
he rejoiced not only of not knowing where he would go next but also of not knowing anything of where he was headed.