De trois commerces and Montaigne's Populous Solitude

Author(s): Glyn P. Norton

Source: The French Review. Special Issue, Vol. 45, No. 3, Medieval and Renaissance Studies
(Autumn, 1971), pp. 101-109
Published by: American Association of Teachers of French
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THE FRENCH REVIEW, Vol. XLV, Special Issue, No. 3, Fall, 1971. Printed in Spain.

De trois commercesand Montaigne's

Populous Solitude

by Glyn P. Norton

THE AGING MONTAIGNE IS BY NO MEANS A PASSIVE FIGURE, resigninglan-

guidly to the factsand conditionsof old age. While portrayingfor the
reader the physiologicaland psychologicalstate of an individualin his
decliningyears,he also maintainsa healthygraspon those creativeforces
which underlie his work of art. The bounds placed by age on his
corporal activitynever stand in the way of communicationwith the
boundless world of the books on his libraryshelves. In a useful and
interestingstudy,Floyd Gray explainsthatMontaigne's"greatestfriends
were the vellum-bound volumes that lined his circular library.
They were his consolationin old age and in solitude.... With them
he was engaged in constantdialogue.... As a resultof this companion-
ship, a new friendslowly began to take shape--it too a book--the
Essais."1 The solitude of place is, therefore,peopled with the objects
of friendshipand association.2 Although Gray is only concerned with
the relationshipbetween a particular,real-lifefriend (La Boetie) and
Montaigne's books, there is much to indicate that the aging essayist
regardedhis books as real, livingassociationswith near humancapacities
for conversationand communication.In old age, the friendshipscre-
ated withthesevolumesreplaced and were even superiorto thosecreated
withreal people. 3 It is, then,not surprising
if,in the finalbody of essays

I "Montaigne'sFriends,"French
Studies, XV (1961), p. 203. ProfessorGray
goes on to show thatthe friendship withLa Bo6tiewas formednot only through
personalassociation,but throughthe operationof Montaigne'simaginationand
contactwithhis books.
2 Real solitude,for Montaigne,is simplya wise of the mind
circumscription
and may be enjoyed in the most public of places: "Ainsin il la [1'me] faut
rameneret retireren soy: c'est la vraie solitude,et qui se peut joiiir au milieu
des villes et des cours des Roys; mais elle se jouyt plus commod6ment a part"
(I, XXXIX, 234). Philip P. Hallie, in The Scar of Montaigne(Middletown,1966),
likewisemakes an importantdistinctionbetweenthe solitude of place and the
solitudeof spirit(pp. 139-140).
3 The humanassociationsprescribedfor the child of the Institution are also of
greaterimportancein the formof books: "En cettepratiquedes hommes,j'entends

101

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102 FRENCHREVIEW

writtenbetween 1585 and 1588, the themeof associationand friendship

is given an especially importantplace, notably in the content and
structureof "De trois commerces."
At the core of this essay is a plea for human "disponibilit6"before
all aspectsof experience.It is an effortof the aging essayistto re-think
certainguiding principlesby which all men can become wiser. While
never disavowing the irrevocablephysical decline to which age con-
demnsus all, Montaigneaffirms the individual'sabidingneed for healthy
mental activityand exercise.Indeed, the subject of the essay is simply
the exercise of the mind through pleasant human and literarycom-
munication.
From the essay "De l'oisivet6,"the thoughtof Montaignehas now
traveled its full circle. As in those earlier momentsof his book, he
proposes for himselfa wise self-mastery:

Si c'estoita moya me dresser dma mode,il n'estaucunesi bonnefacon

oz je vouleusseestrefich6pourne m'enspavoirdesprendre. La vie est
un mouvement inegal,irregulieret multiforme. Ce n'estpas estreamy
de soy et moinsencoremaistre,c'est en estreesclave,de se suivre
incessamment qu'on ne le puissetordre
et estresi prisa ses inclinations
(III, iii,796). 4
Mental idleness and stagnationare, therefore,no more a part of the
aging introspectiveof 1585 than of the youngeressayistof 1572. Recall-
ing the "oisivet6"/ "mettreen rolle" oppositionof an earlierchapter,s
Montaigneremindsus once again of the need to exertsome controlover
our mentalprocesses:

Pourlegersubjectqu'on luy donne,elle [l'drme] et

le grossitvolontiers
l'estirejusquesau poinctouzelleaita s'y embesongnerde toutesa force.
Son oysifvete m'estd cettecauseune penibleoccupation, et qui offence
ma sante.La pluspartdes esprits ontbesoingde matiereestrangere pour
se desgourdir et exercer;le mienen a besoingpour se rassoirplustot
et sejourner...(III, iii,797).
As if to give these ideas a more formalextension,Montaignemoves
in "De trois commerces" from the ramblingthought progressionsof

et principalement,
y comprendre, ceux qui ne viventqu'en la memoiredes livres"
(I, XXVI, 155).
4 Montaigne,Oeuvres completes,textes6tablispar AlbertThibaudetet Maurice
Rat (Paris: Gallimard,1962).All furthercitationswill be takenfromthis edition.
s This oppositionis the centralidea of one of the earliestessays,"De l'oisivetI."

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DE TROIS COMMERCES 103

the essay's introductionto a coherent,well-orderedstructurein which

he gets down to specificcases and discussesthe kindsof exerciseleading
to self-mastery. It is here that we see Montaigne'sjudgmentand cre-
ativityin theirmost active, dynamicform.Not only is the essay struc-
turedaround the threekindsof association(that of noble men,beautiful
women,and steadfastbooks), but withinthisstructure,the criticalmind
of the writerweighs and evaluatesthe relativevalues of these associa-
tions. Quantitativelyand qualitativelyinferiorto the third (the as-
sociationwith books), the firsttwo associationsreferclearly to human
kinds of fellowship and communication.On the other hand, books,
with theirobjective reality,are also targetsof the essayist'ssociability.
As the thirdand superiorkind of associationfor the aging Montaigne,
his books are consequentlyto be placed in metaphoricalrelation to
human associations.
It is not improbable,therefore,that Montaigne carefullyplanned
the arrangementand order of the three kinds of association,a fact
largely ignored by Villey.6 Only after enumeratingthe qualities of
the associationswith "honnesteshommes"and "belles et honnestesfem-
mes" can he draw a more credible comparisonwith his books. Mon-
taignewantsto say thathis books, as the inhabitantsof his tower,possess
certainqualitieswhich recall the traitsof correspondinghumanassocia-
tions. By juxtaposingand measuringthese associationsone against an-
other,the essayistis using contentand structureto performnot only
a simple act of judgment,but to discuss what is really on his mind,
namely friendship, mentalexercise,and theirimportancefor the aging
man.
The relationshipbetween friendship and mentalexerciseis, of course,
not readily apparent. For Montaigne to have constructedhis essay
around the idea of books as good friendsand as accessible forms of
mentalexercisewould also have done nothingto clarifythisrelationship.
The problem is handled most effectively,however, when the essayist
preparesthe reader for the later philosophicalnucleus of the essay by
discussingthe firstkind of association,that of verbal communionbe-
tween "honnesteset habiles hommes":

Les hommesde la societeet familiaritedesquelsje suis en queste,sont

ceux qu'on appellehonnestes
et habileshommes;l'imagede ceux cy me
6 Villey does not discussthe essay as an aestheticentity.For him,it is simply
the manifestation of the three pleasuresof the "honnestehomme."He ignores,
therefore,the evidentthoughtprogressions of the aging introspective
and opera-
tion of the essayist'scriticaljudgment.Les Sources et revolutiondes Essais de
Montaigne,II (Paris,1908),pp. 464-480.

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104 FRENCHREVIEW

degoustedes autres.C'est,d le bien prendre,de nos formesla plus

rare....La finde ce commerce, la privautd',
c'est simplement frequen-
tationet conference:l'exercicedes amessansautrefruit(III, iii, 802).

While these are the men whom Montaigne seeks as friends,this essay
does not approach the ideals of friendshipdescribed,in "De I'amiti6,"
as the perfectfusionof two souls and two wills.' It is not surprising,
then,that the writer'sideas on friendshiphere lack any but the most
oblique referenceto La Boetie and the idealized "amiti6 seule et par-
faicte"(III, iii, 798). 8 The writeris simplysearchingformen withwhom
he can have free and lively conversation,an idea already prefiguring
the freedomof mind,movement,and associationwhich Montaigneis to
enjoy in the confinesof his library.
The significanceof that"constantdialogue,"referredto by Professor
Gray, which the essayistcarrieson with his books, is all the more clear
when examinedin relationto the secondaryassociationof the "honnestes
hommes."The qualitiesof noble mindsin verbal communionwith each
other are strikinglysimilarto what Montaigne might expect from a
correspondingdialoguewith his books: "En nos propos ... la grace et la
pertinencey sont tousjours; tout est teinctd'un jugementmeuret cons-
tant,et mesl6de bont6,de franchise,de gayet6et d'amitie"(III, iii, 802).
Montaigne's pleasurable associations are not, however, exclusively
spiritual.On a slightlyinferiorlevel, thereis also the relationshipwith
"(c) belles et (b) honnestesfemmes"(III, iii, 802), the second form of
associationdiscussedin the essay. Here Montaigneaccentuatesthe cor-
poreal and sensual qualitiesof such an association: "Si l'ame n'y a pas
'
tant jouyr qu'au premier [le commerce des hommes], les sens cor-

7 The "perfect"friendship of "De l'amiti6"is indeed a rarityfor the gregarious

essayist:it has been found in his books, in Aristotle'sNicomacheanEthics and
Cicero's De amicitia,brought into contact with experienceand imagination,
and given literaryextensionthroughthe writer'screativedrive. Montaignealso
appearsto have read Plutarch'sDe amicorummultitudine in the Moralia.Although
the only specificreferenceto thiswork is foundin "De troiscommerces"(III, iii,
798), it is not impossiblethat Montaignewas readingit duringthe early part of
"De l'amiti6"(I, xxviii,190)wherehe writesat lengthon the indivisibility
of perfect
friendship and of the dangerof multipliedfriendships.
8 "De troiscommerces"is perhapsthe mostimportant expressionof Montaigne's
ideas on friendshipbetween 1580 and 1588. On the other hand, the form of
"De l'amiti6"had changedlittlein the 1588edition: manyof the major additions
to the essay,especiallythe more personalaccountsof the idealizedfriendship, only
appearin the posthumousedition.Althoughit does containtwo important addenda
made after 1588,"De trois commerces,"however,begins to take form between
1586and 1588.Villey datesit fromearly 1586.

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DE TROIS COMMERCES 105
' "
porels, qui participentaussi plus cettuy-cy,le ramenent une pro-
portion voisine de l'autre,quoy que, selon moy, non pas esgalle" (III,
iii, 802). Although he does not, of course, ignore the more spiritual
attractionsof the "honnestesfemmes,"his thoughtsare here filledwith
a healthy,nostalgic sexualitycalling for the coexistence of love and
passion ("je ne connois non plus Venus sans Cupidon" --III, iii, 804).
Even in old age the powers of erotic imaginationare no less ardentin
'
spite of the individual'sphysicalstate: "Celles mesmes qui la vieillesse
refusela force corporelle,fremissentencores, hannissentet tressaillent
d'amour.Nous les voyons avant le faictpleinesd'esperanceet d'ardeur;
et, quand le corps a jou6 son jeu, se chatouillerencor de la douceur de
cette souvenance..." (III, iii, 804). The confinesof the imagination,
therefore,become all the more importantfor the aging introspective
while the body's participationbecomes all the more listless.
On a less overt level, Montaigneis here describinga differentform
of mentalexercise.In fellowshipwith the "honnestehomme,"thisexer-
cise was primarilyverbal,but confrontedby a potentiallyerotic expe-
rience, the mind initiatesthe activity,creatingand anticipatingsubse-
quent corporeal pleasures.Made possible throughthe imagination,this
form of mental exercise is completelyin keeping with the theme of
"disponibilit6."Montaignevalues his freedomof movementwhetherin
frank, unbridled conversation with friends, or in an unrestricted,
uncommittedassociationwith the opposite sex. He does not want to
nail himselfdown so firmlyto his humorsand dispositions.Even in this
pleasurable association with "belles et honnestesfemmes,"inordinate
passion and commitmentmust be held in check, therebyrestoringto
the individuala measureof personalindependence: "C'est folie d'y [au
commercedes femmes]attachertoutesses pens6eset s'y engagerd'une
affectionfurieuseet indiscrette"(III, iii, 803). The tensionof tone and
subject matter,of spirituality and sensuality,between the firsttwo parts
is, then,alleviatedby thisthematiccontinuitywhich is to dominatethe
thirdand essentialpart of the essay.
Out of the two initialkindsof association,the dialecticalprogression
of Montaigne's thoughtterminatesin a fittingand superior synthesis.
The act of weighing,considering,dividing,and comparingwhich is the
tool of the critical mind enables the essayistto reach the nucleus of
his discussion.Fellowship with books compares more than favorably
with the two otherassociations:

Ces deux commercessont fortuites et despendansd'autruy.L'un est

ennuyeux par sa raretd:l'autrese flestrit
avec l'aage; ainsinils n'eussent
pas assez prouveuau besoingde ma vie. Celuy des livres,qui est le

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106 FRENCH REVIEW

troisiesme, est bien plus seur et plus a nous. II cede aux premiersles
autresavantages, maisil a pour sa partla constanceet facilite'
de son
service(III, iii,805).

As with the "amiti6 seule et parfaicte,"the verbal communionwith

superiorkindsof men is also an ideal rarelyachieved,accessible only as
an approximationof the absolute communion.Although the rarityof
such associationsis referredto by Aristotle,Cicero, and Plutarch,the
communionwith books is far more accessible by the "facilit6de son
service." While the formerdepends totally on the whims of Fortune,
the latteris entirelywithinthe reach of one's hand: it is always there,
ever open to the probing mind, ever ready to share its wisdom and
charm.Unlike the capacityfor sexual love and the progressivewithering
of humanbeauty,bookishassociationsare constantand unfailing.Where-
as companionshipwith beautiful women must be tempered at the
advent of old age (except in the imagination),the "beauty" of books
is untouched by the ravages of Time as also is Montaigne's capacity
for fellowshipwith them.
In short,books for the aging introspectivenot only fulfillall the
functionsof a good friend,but also sharein the spiritualand corporeal
qualitieswhich characterizedthe firsttwo associations:

Cettuy-ci[le commercedes livres]costoietoutmon courset m'assiste

par tout.Il me consoleen la vieillesseet en la solitude.11me descharge
du pois d'une oisivet6ennuyeuse;et me deffaicta toute heuredes
compaignies qui me faschent.11emousseles pointures de la douleur....
Pour me distraire d'uneimagination importune, il n'estque de recourir
aux livres;ils me destournent facilement d eux et me la desrobent.Et
si, ne se mutinentpointpourvoirque je ne les recherche qu'au deffaut
de ces autrescommoditez,plusreelles, viveset naturelles;ilsmerecoivent
tousjours de mesme visage(III, iii,805).
Books are a consolation in times of solitude and despair. They are
pleasurablediversionsfrommore tediousoccupations.They preventthe
individualfrom being overpoweredby troublesomeideas ("une imagi-
nationimportune"),therebykeepinghis mindin healthy"disponibilit6."
With complete equanimity,they act as cheerful substitutesfor the
"honneste homme" and the "belles et honnestes femmes." As with
the communionof noble minds,books servethe ends of both utilityand
pleasure.9 Like enjoyable conversation,they amuse as well as instruct.

9 Early in the Essais, Montaignewrites of this dual purpose of books: "Je

n'ayme,pour moy, que des livres ou plaisanset faciles,qui me chatouillent,
ou

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DE TROIS COMMERCES 107

Never morose or incommunicative,they greet us with an even tem-

peramentand a unifiedexpression("de mesme visage"). Beyond their
purely objective reality,books are, then, communicativeliving beings
which populate the somber enclosure of Montaigne'stower. They are
always receptiveto the eager hands which take themfromtheirshelves
and turn their worn, discolored pages. Not only are they spiritual
companions which communicate their wisdom and common sense,
therebyrecallingthe natureof the firstassociation,but theyare enjoyed
because theirphysicalpresencesuggestsan importanttactile and visual
experience,therebyrecallingthe natureof the second association.
Because he can see them, touch them, and leaf through them,
Montaigne's bookish friendsare endowed with their own particular
sensuality.Their existence is completely gratuitous.They make no
demandsupon the essayist,communicatingthemselvesonly when called
upon to give pleasureand wisdom. They are at home on the secluded
shelvesof the circularlibrary,or beside the writerduringhis frequent
journeys.Although left unopened and untouched for periods of time,
theirpresenceis itselfa warm and pleasurablequality.

Jene voyagesanslivresny en paix,nyen guerre.Toutesfois il se passera

plusieursjours,et des mois,sansque je les employe...ii ne se peutdire
combienje me reposeet sejourneen cetteconsideration, qu'ilssonta
mon cost6pour me donnerdu plaisird mon heure,et a reconnoistre
combienils portentde secoursa ma vie. C'estla meilleure munition que
e' cet humainvoyage...(III, iii,806).
j'aye trouv

As constantcompanionsin old age and solitude,books, by their very

presence,reassureand comfortMontaigne.Whether in its spiritualor
physicalform,they filland populate the writer'sseclusion.
Montaignehas, then,structuredhis essay in such a way as to weigh
and judge the relativevalues of certainhumanassociations,and to draw
fromtheir juxtapositionthat meaningfulsynthesisfound in the essay's
final paragraphs.It is here that the writer's critical mind, as it has
progressedacross the structureand order of his discussion,opens ulti-
mately upon the real, concrete topography of his tower. Less able,
because of corporal infirmities,
to move out into the world and society

ceux qui me consolentet conseillenta reglerma vie et ma mort"(I, xxxix,241).

Later, in "Des livres,"he resumesthe same theme: "Je ne cherche aux livres
qu'd m'y donner du plaisirpar un honnesteamusement;ou si j'estudie,je n'y
cherche que la science qui traictede la connoissancede moy mesmes,et qui
m'instruiseI bien mouriret iabien vivre"(II, x, 388).

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108 FRENCHREVIEW

and to form new human associations,the gregariousintrospectiveof

1588 bringsthe world and society into the confinesof his library.
Ironically,it is within the geometric limitationsof this enclosure
that Montaignefindsa maximumof personallibertyand "disponibilit6."
His naturalsociabilityis, here,totallyunrestricted:both mindand body
have freedomto move, circulate,and form new kinds of associations.
It is not unintentionally thatthe geometricand descriptiveprecisionwith
which the writer depicts his library retreatreinforcesthe notion of
spiritualliberty.While the physicaldimensionsof the tower and library
dominatethe description,giving a sense of spatial circumscription, this
enclosure also maximizesthe essayist'svisual and mentalindependence.
For example,the scope of the eye extendsbeyond the librarywalls:
'
"Chez moy, je me destourneun peu plus souvent ma librairie,d'ofi
'
tout d'une mainje commande mon mesnage.Je suis sur l'entr~eet vois
soubs moy mon jardin, ma basse court, ma court, et dans la pluspart
des membresde ma maison" (III, iii, 806). In the posthumousedition,
the writeradds: "Elle [la librairie]a troisvefiesde riche et libre pros-
pect, et seize pas de vuide en diametre"(III, iii, 807). This same freedom
of vision dominateseven the enclosure'sinteriorand is made possible
by the circular shape 'of the room: "La figureen est ronde et n'a de
plat que ce qu'il faut ma table et a mon siege, et vient m'offranten
se courbant,d'une veiie, tous mes livres,rengez ' cinq degrez tout '
l'environ" (III, iii, 806-807). As with the eye, the mind is also not
constrainedby the stone and mortar of the tower; it too is free to
wander and associatewith the vellum-boundinhabitantsof the library:
' '
"La, je feuillette' cette heureun livre, cette heureun autre,sans ordre
et sans dessein, pieces descousues; tantostje resve, tantost j'enre-
gistreet dicte, en me promenant,mes songes que voicy" (III, iii, 806).
Indeed, if the mindis to maintainitselfin healthyexercise,the individual
requiresnot only a spiritual,but physicalfreedomof movement: "Tout
lieu retirerequiertun proumenoir.Mes pens6es dormentsi je les assis.
Mon espritne va, si les jambes ne l'agitent.Ceux qui estudientsans livre,
en sont tous la" (III, iii, 806).
Montaigne,in his library,enjoys the best of both worlds. On the
one hand,the solitudeof place and mindcombineto give himan absolute
authorityover the "arriere boutique "of which he wrote in "De la
solitude";10 it is here thathe establisheshis true libertyand sovereignty:

C'est l mon siege. J'essaied m'en rendrela dominationpure, et a sous-

trairece seul coin hlacommunaut6et conjugale, et filiale,et civile. Par

"Il se fautreserverune arriereboutiquetoutenostre,toutefranche,en laquelle

10
nous establissons
nostrevrayelibert6et principaleretraicte
et solitude"(I, xxxix,235).

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DE TROIS COMMERCES 109

tout ailleursje n'ay qu'une auctorit verbale: en essence confuse.

Miserabled mongrd,qui n'a chezsoy oz' estred soy,ohse faireparticu-
lierement la cour,oz se cacher!"(III, iii,807).

On the other hand, this solitude is inhabitedby real, palpable friends

whose presenceis never inaccessibleand whose beauty, unlike that of
the "belles et honnestesfemmes,"is untouchedby the ravages of Time.
Only in such a place can his thoughtsstrollleisurelywith their new-
found acquaintances,carryingon those spiritualdialogues which are to
crystallizein the registerof the Essais. Only in such a place and through
metaphoricalcreationcan the writer'sexistencetake on a new kind of
objectivity: his thoughtshere become moving, walking figures; his
books become familiarfaces, warm and receptive to his instinctive
sociability; his library becomes a microkingdom,populated with his
obedient subjects; and finally,Montaigne himselfbecomes a feudal
suzerain whose authority,both real and verbal, extends beyond his
throne("siege") to thiscirculardomainof books. Montaigne'scommuni-
cative natureis, therefore,never compromisedby the accession of old
age. 11 Within its relativelyconfiningdimensions,his library contains
its own topographywhere body and mind may discovernew pathways
leading to new acquaintances,but where all roads ultimatelyturn back
to the Self.

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

11 While Montaignequalifieshis bookishpleasuresas injuriousto health("Je ne

"
sgache excez plus dommageablepour moy, ny plus eviteren cette declinaison
d'aage" [III, iii, 807]), he is also unable to stiflethe force of his creativedrive.
His work of art keeps posing new questionsand seekingnew forms.As with
Proust,his deathis an abruptintrusionupon thisartisticquest.

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