Summary
Montaigne examines a fascinating legal case where an Athenian funeral director was condemned for profiting from death, arguing his business could only succeed when people died. Montaigne finds this judgment absurd because, he argues, all profit comes at someone else's expense. The merchant profits from young people's poor spending habits, farmers benefit from grain shortages that make others hungry, architects thrive when buildings fall down, and even doctors secretly hope their friends get sick. This isn't just about business—Montaigne suggests we all harbor private wishes that depend on others' misfortune. A promotion means someone else didn't get it. A good deal means someone else paid more than they should have. Even our deepest desires often require others to lose something. Rather than condemning this as immoral, Montaigne sees it as natural law. Just as in nature, where one thing's growth requires another's decay, human society operates on the same principle. The key insight isn't that we should feel guilty about this reality, but that we should be honest about it. Recognizing these trade-offs makes us more thoughtful about our choices and less judgmental of others who are simply trying to survive in the same system. This chapter challenges readers to examine their own lives: What opportunities have come at others' expense? How do we benefit from systems that disadvantage others? Montaigne doesn't offer easy answers, but he provides a framework for thinking more clearly about the moral complexity of everyday economic life.
Coming Up in Chapter 22
Having explored how individual gain creates loss for others, Montaigne next tackles an even thornier question: when should we change established customs and laws, even if they seem unfair? He'll examine why societies resist change and whether tradition or innovation serves us better.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
HAT THE PROFIT OF ONE MAN IS THE DAMAGE OF ANOTHER Demades the Athenian--[Seneca, De Beneficiis, vi. 38, whence nearly the whole of this chapter is taken.]--condemned one of his city, whose trade it was to sell the necessaries for funeral ceremonies, upon pretence that he demanded unreasonable profit, and that that profit could not accrue to him, but by the death of a great number of people. A judgment that appears to be ill grounded, forasmuch as no profit whatever can possibly be made but at the expense of another, and that by the same rule he should condemn all gain of what kind soever. The merchant only thrives by the debauchery of youth, the husband man by the dearness of grain, the architect by the ruin of buildings, lawyers and officers of justice by the suits and contentions of men: nay, even the honour and office of divines are derived from our death and vices. A physician takes no pleasure in the health even of his friends, says the ancient Greek comic writer, nor a soldier in the peace of his country, and so of the rest. And, which is yet worse, let every one but dive into his own bosom, and he will find his private wishes spring and his secret hopes grow up at another’s expense. Upon which consideration it comes into my head, that nature does not in this swerve from her general polity; for physicians hold, that the birth, nourishment, and increase of every thing is the dissolution and corruption of another: “Nam quodcumque suis mutatum finibus exit, Continuo hoc mors est illius, quod fuit ante.” [“For, whatever from its own confines passes changed, this is at once the death of that which before it was.”--Lucretius, ii. 752.] ETEXT EDITOR’S BOOKMARKS: Accommodated my subject to my strength Affright people with the very mention of death All I aim at is, to pass my time at my ease All think he has yet twenty good years to come Apprenticeship and a resemblance of death Become a fool by too much wisdom Both himself and his posterity declared ignoble, taxable Caesar: he would be thought an excellent engineer to boot Courtesy and good manners is a very necessary study Dangers do, in truth, little or nothing hasten our end Death can, whenever we please, cut short inconveniences Death has us every moment by the throat Death is a part of you Denying all solicitation, both of hand and mind Did my discourses came only from my mouth or from my heart Die well--that is, patiently and tranquilly. Discover what there is of good and clean in the bottom of the po Downright and sincere obedience Every day travels towards death; the last only arrives at it. Fear is more importunate and insupportable than death itself Fear to lose a thing, which being lost, cannot be lamented? Fear: begets a terrible astonishment and confusion Feared, lest disgrace should make such delinquents desperate Give these young wenches the...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Necessary Harm
All advantage comes at someone else's expense, but denying this reality creates more harm than acknowledging it.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches you to spot when someone's gain requires another's loss, helping you navigate competition more honestly.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when your good news might be someone else's disappointment—a shift you got, a deal you found, a opportunity that came your way—and ask yourself how you can acknowledge this reality without letting guilt paralyze you.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Zero-sum thinking
The belief that for someone to win, someone else must lose - that there's a fixed amount of success to go around. Montaigne explores this idea through the funeral director case, questioning whether all profit necessarily hurts others.
Modern Usage:
We see this in workplace competition, housing markets, and social media where someone else's success can feel like our failure.
Economic interdependence
How everyone's livelihood depends on others' needs, problems, or misfortunes. The doctor needs sick patients, the lawyer needs disputes, the farmer needs hungry people to buy grain.
Modern Usage:
Mechanics need car problems, therapists need people with issues, and insurance companies need people worried about disasters.
Moral paradox
A situation where doing what seems right creates ethical complications. Montaigne shows how necessary professions depend on human suffering, creating uncomfortable moral questions.
Modern Usage:
Like pharmaceutical companies that cure diseases but also need sick people to stay profitable, or news outlets that inform us but profit from disasters.
Natural law philosophy
The idea that human behavior follows patterns found in nature. Montaigne argues that economic competition mirrors how plants and animals compete for resources in the wild.
Modern Usage:
We use this thinking when we say 'it's just business' or 'survival of the fittest' to justify competitive behavior.
Self-examination
Montaigne's signature practice of looking honestly at one's own motives and contradictions. He challenges readers to examine their secret hopes and private wishes.
Modern Usage:
Like checking our privilege, examining our biases, or being honest about whose loss might be our gain.
Athenian democracy
The ancient Greek system where citizens could bring legal cases against each other for various offenses, including economic ones. This context explains why someone could be prosecuted for their business model.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how we regulate businesses today through consumer protection laws and ethics investigations.
Characters in This Chapter
Demades the Athenian
Judge/prosecutor
The official who condemned the funeral director for profiting from death. He represents rigid moral thinking that doesn't account for economic reality. His judgment becomes Montaigne's starting point for deeper questions.
Modern Equivalent:
The activist who boycotts companies without understanding economic complexity
The funeral director
Accused businessman
A man prosecuted for running a business that only profits when people die. He becomes a symbol for anyone whose honest work depends on others' misfortune. Montaigne uses him to question where we draw moral lines.
Modern Equivalent:
The emergency room doctor who needs accidents to stay employed
The merchant
Example figure
Montaigne's example of someone who profits from young people's poor decisions and impulse buying. Represents how many businesses depend on human weaknesses or mistakes.
Modern Equivalent:
The payday loan officer or credit card company executive
The physician
Paradoxical helper
Montaigne notes that even doctors secretly hope their friends get sick because that's how they make money. Represents the uncomfortable truth about helpful professions needing problems to solve.
Modern Equivalent:
The therapist who needs people to have problems
Key Quotes & Analysis
"A physician takes no pleasure in the health even of his friends"
Context: Montaigne lists professions that depend on others' misfortune
This shocking statement reveals how even caring professions create conflicted interests. It forces us to confront the uncomfortable reality that good people can benefit from others' problems without being evil.
In Today's Words:
Even your doctor friend secretly hopes you'll need medical care so they can pay their bills.
"No profit whatever can possibly be made but at the expense of another"
Context: Montaigne's central argument against the funeral director's prosecution
This bold claim challenges how we think about success and fairness. Montaigne argues that all economic activity involves someone gaining while someone else loses something, making moral judgments more complex.
In Today's Words:
Every dollar you make is a dollar someone else doesn't have.
"Let every one but dive into his own bosom, and he will find his private wishes spring and his secret hopes grow up at another's expense"
Context: Montaigne challenges readers to examine their own motivations
This call for self-examination is classic Montaigne - turning the spotlight on the reader. He suggests we all harbor hopes that require others to fail or suffer, making us complicit in the system we judge.
In Today's Words:
Be honest - you've secretly hoped for things that would be bad news for someone else.
"Nature does not in this swerve from her general polity"
Context: Montaigne argues this competitive dynamic is natural law
Montaigne refuses to condemn what he sees as natural behavior. By comparing human economics to natural ecosystems, he suggests we shouldn't feel guilty about participating in competitive systems.
In Today's Words:
This is just how the world works - it's not personal, it's nature.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
Economic competition reveals how class positions depend on others remaining lower
Development
Introduced here
In Your Life:
Your financial stability might depend on systems that keep others struggling
Identity
In This Chapter
We construct moral identities that deny our participation in zero-sum dynamics
Development
Introduced here
In Your Life:
You might tell yourself you're 'different' from people who obviously profit from others' losses
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
Society condemns honest acknowledgment of competitive reality while rewarding disguised versions
Development
Introduced here
In Your Life:
You're expected to pretend your success doesn't come at anyone else's expense
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
Even friendships involve hidden competitions and conflicting interests
Development
Introduced here
In Your Life:
Your close relationships might involve unspoken competitions you pretend don't exist
Personal Growth
In This Chapter
Maturity requires accepting uncomfortable truths about how advantage works
Development
Introduced here
In Your Life:
Growing up means recognizing you're not exempt from the systems you criticize in others
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why was the Athenian funeral director condemned, and what does Montaigne think about this judgment?
analysis • surface - 2
According to Montaigne, how do merchants, farmers, doctors, and other professionals secretly benefit from others' misfortune?
analysis • medium - 3
Where do you see this pattern of 'one person's gain requiring another's loss' in your workplace, community, or daily life?
application • medium - 4
When you've gotten a good opportunity or deal, who might have lost out, and how do you think about that trade-off?
reflection • deep - 5
If Montaigne is right that this is natural law, how should we navigate situations where our success comes at others' expense?
application • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map Your Hidden Trade-offs
Think of a recent success or good fortune in your life—a job, promotion, good deal, or opportunity. Write down who might have lost out when you gained. Then consider: Did you acknowledge this trade-off at the time? How did you justify it to yourself? What would change if you were more honest about these hidden costs?
Consider:
- •Look beyond obvious competitors to indirect effects on others
- •Consider how systems and structures create these trade-offs, not just individual choices
- •Think about the difference between necessary competition and unnecessary harm
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when someone else's gain came at your expense. How did that feel? What did you learn about how these trade-offs work from the losing side?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 22: The Tyranny of Custom
Having explored how individual gain creates loss for others, Montaigne next tackles an even thornier question: when should we change established customs and laws, even if they seem unfair? He'll examine why societies resist change and whether tradition or innovation serves us better.
