Looming over Montaigne’s essays are the writings of the Ancient Greeks and Romans, whose wisdom is prized by Renaissance and Early Modern Europeans. Montaigne quotes liberally from his favorites—Socrates, Plato, Plutarch, Cato the Younger, and Seneca the Younger, among others—and uses their wisdom as touchstones for his own thinking. 

Montaigne retires to a tower on the corner of the grounds of his chateau, where he thinks and writes his essays. The tower gives him the solitude he needs; the writing room is filled with books, and its crossbeams are emblazoned with his favorite quotes from the Bible and the Ancients.

Montaigne inherits a large estate and chateau. He must manage this property, with its acres of grapes and other agricultural products, while writing his essays and dealing with the constant threat of religious warfare nearby.