Montaigne and La Boétie: A Perfect Friendship

Montaigne and La Boétie: A Perfect Friendship
One of Michel de Montaigne's (L) greatest essays was "On Friendship." Though Étienne de La Boétie was immortalized in Michel de Montaigne's essays on friendship, he was a writer, poet, and political theorist in his own right. Public domain, P. Eoche/Getty Images
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Personal tragedy can often be a catalyst for change and growth. While we don’t envy people who experience it, we admire those who bear it well and are able to transmute their pain into something good or beautiful. For example, “The Divine Comedy” exists because Dante suffered the double misfortune of losing his beloved Beatrice and being exiled from Florence for life.

Abraham Lincoln is another case in point. Over the course of his life, he endured the death of numerous family members, including his second son. Later, while in the White House, his third son died and he witnessed the mental deterioration of his wife, Mary Todd. Then, he was assassinated. Lincoln, one of the most esteemed men in history, lived one of the most unenviable lives imaginable. But where would the world be without such melancholics?

Andrew Benson Brown
Andrew Benson Brown
Author
Andrew Benson Brown is a Missouri-based poet, journalist, and writing coach. He is an editor at Bard Owl Publishing and Communications and the author of “Legends of Liberty,” an epic poem about the American Revolution. For more information, visit Apollogist.wordpress.com.
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