
On February 28, 1571, the 38-year-old Michel de Montaigne marked his birthday by inscribing the fact of his retirement from public life on a wall near his library. The French nobleman was “long weary of the servitude of the court…

On February 28, 1571, the 38-year-old Michel de Montaigne marked his birthday by inscribing the fact of his retirement from public life on a wall near his library. The French nobleman was “long weary of the servitude of the court…