Both Michel de Montaigne (pictured) and Ignacio de Loyola had privileged upbringings. Both were born to wealthy Catholic families in Renaissance-era Europe. Both had a fine education, but Loyola's wasn't quite as extravagant as Montaigne's.
In Montaigne's infancy, his father ensured that his tutor, his parents, and his servants all spoke to him exclusively in Latin. The idea was that Montaigne would learn Latin as his first language, as his father believed 'the tedious time we [apply] to the learning of the tongues of them who had them for nothing, [is] the sole cause we [cannot] arrive to the grandeur of soul and perfection of knowledge of the ancient Greeks and Romans'.
Each day, Montaigne's father also ensured Montaigne was woken 'by the sound of some musical instrument'. At six years of age, Montaigne was sent to an elite French college, where he completed the entire curriculum by age 13. Montaigne then went on to study law.
Both Loyola and Montaigne proceeded to lead illustrious early careers. Montaigne became a public figure, acting as counsellor and courtier to various important men. Loyola became a distinguished soldier, a career he later admitted appealed mainly because of its glamour and excitement.
At this point, the two men's lives diverged. Montaigne retired to a chateau to write and think, emerging occasionally to involve himself in local politics. In his writings, Montaigne decided he had led a commendable life of 'affability and good humour'. He had done little wrong to anyone: 'The most injurious [complaints I hear of myself are] not ... "Why has he taken such a thing? Why has he not paid such a one?" but, "Why does he part with nothing? Why does he not give?"'
Montaigne felt his critics were too demanding: 'They are unjust to exact from me what I do not owe, far more rigorously than they require from others that which they do owe,' he complained. Montaigne did not feel he owed anyone anything. As long as he did not actively take, who would have the temerity to ask him to give?
Loyola's career as a soldier abruptly ended after sustaining serious battle injuries. In the resultant period of convalescence, Loyola decided upon a new career. He founded a religious order, the Society of Jesus, and dedicated his life to the service of others through the Society's works. His radically altered perspective led him to conceive of his career in terms alien to