Of solitude
A change of scenery is not enough to make us free. Montaigne observes that anxiety, ambition and the need for recognition follow us into retirement. A quiet house can become another court, where we still seek the approval of people who are no longer present. Solitude therefore begins with examining what our contentment depends on.
His proposal is to preserve an inner space that roles, possessions and relationships do not occupy entirely. We can love, act and learn while preparing to lose what lies beyond our control. Even study needs limits: when it sacrifices health to the prestige of knowledge, it reproduces the dependence we hoped to escape.
The point is to inhabit our own company without constantly needing an audience. Yet the proposal has a limit: this freedom assumes time and room to choose, which are not equally available to everyone. The essay offers a discipline of judgement; it does not resolve the material constraints that make withdrawal possible.