Pt. I. Ambitions. The Eyquems' social ascension
A first career as a magistrate (1556-1570)
La Boétie and Montaigne : discourse on servitude and essay of allegiance
"Witness my cannibals" : the encounter with the Indians of the new world
The making of a gentleman (1570-1580)
The essais of 1580 : moral, political, and military discourses
pt. II. Practices. The call of Rome, or how Montaigne never became an ambassador (1580-1581)
"Messieurs of Bordeaux elected me mayor of their city" (1581-1585)
"Benignity of the great" and "public ruin" (1585-1588)
The marginalization of Montaigne (1588-1592)
pt. III. Post mortem. Montaigne's political posterity.
