Escape the vortex of pandemonium
He left the rest to prattle on, to move with the herd, to get borne aloft, to preach and parade; he left the world to follow its chaotic crazed paths and only concerned himself with one thing: to be rational within himself, to remain human in an inhuman time, to remain free in the vortex of pandemonium. He let them have their say, those who mockingly accused him of indifference, indecision and cowardice; he let others relish their surprise at seeing him relinquish his duties and honours. His nearest and dearest, who knew him best, never doubted the perseverance, the clearsightedness and the subtlety with which, in the shadow of public affairs, he applied himself to the sole aim to which he was committed: to live his own life, and not simply to live.
Reminds me of today's shamings of inaction by protestors and armchair activists. To retreat from the "vortex of pandemonium" isn't cowardice, but to build courage to tap into your own inner reservoir, to live your own life, and to do the impossible act of summoning truths within yourself that is only possible with years of indistraction. After a decade, Montaigne did come back. He published his first volume of Essais and then was unanimously elected mayor without even running. Not that Montaigne had any role from Bordeaux in solving the larger crises of his time, but there is maybe no better example of how a self-direct life can lead one to a position of leverage to act on political and moral affairs.