With 'Montaigne', Stefan Zweig laid the cornerstone of his essayistic-biographical work in 1942, even though it remained a fragment. In 1934, he had provided a veiled self-portrait with 'Triumph and Tragedy of Erasmus of Rotterdam', depicting the life of a man who did not want to "jump with a jolt onto the back of a party". 'Montaigne' became a justification of himself. The French philosopher Michel Eyquem Seigneur de Montaigne (1533-1592) saw humanity - not least himself - in its imperfection, diversity, contradictions, and the changeability of character, and recognized in its individuality an "inner freedom" in everything. Stefan Zweig felt validated by him. He found Montaigne's words, "The most voluntary death is the most beautiful. Life depends on the will of others - death...".