Some Thoughts about Impeachment Day–from 400+ years ago

Last updated on: December 18, 2019 at 11:43 am by Vance Morgan

Some Thoughts about Impeachment Day–from 400+ years ago 2019-12-18T11:43:19-04:00 Vance Morgan

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Next semester I will be teaching an honors colloquium on Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), one of the most important and influential thinkers and writers in the Western tradition. As fate would have it, the first of Montaigne’s essays I read this morning was “Of the useful and the honorable,” reflections on what Montaigne learned from his life in public service, both as the mayor of Bordeaux and as a liaison and diplomat between warring (literally) factions in violence-torn 16th century France.

In the background as I read I had the television on as the impeachment hearings and, eventually, vote on articles of impeachment began in the House of Representatives. Perhaps not surprisingly, much of what Montaigne has to say is directly relevant to what is happening in real time before our eyes.

Here, for instance, is something for Donald J. Trump:

The way of truth is one and simple: that of private profit and the advantage of one’s personal business is double, uneven, and random . . . Will and desires are a law unto themselves; actions must receive their law from public regulation.

And here is what Montaigne has to say to the Republican members of the House:

But we must not call “duty,” as we do every day, an inner bitterness and asperity that is born of private interest and passion; nor “courage” a treacherous and malicious conduct. Their propensity to malignity and violence they call zeal. It is not the cause that inflames them, it is their self-interest.

This, arguably, is important advice for all those who will be debating and voting, both today and in the likely Senate trial of the impeached President next month:

I am attached to the general and just cause only with moderation and without feverishness . . . Anger and hatred are beyond the duty of justice, and are passions serving only those who do not hold to their duty enough by reason alone. All legitimate and equitable intentions are of themselves equable and temperate; otherwise they degenerate into the seditious and illegitimate.

And, finally, Montaigne wraps up his essay with something that reminds me of the courage of Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a freshman congressperson who, a couple of days ago, courageously announced during a town hall in her Michigan district, a district that voted for Trump by 7% in 2016, that she will be voting in favor of both articles of impeachment today. Many people have told Rep. Slotkin that she is committing professional suicide. In the face of both boos and cheers from her raucous constituents at the town hall meeting, she demonstrated that some things are more important than keeping one’s job. Montaigne wrote about public servants like her more than four centuries ago in “Of the useful and the honorable”:

Pure naturalness and truth, in whatever age, still find their time and their place . . . Every person should swear what the kings of Egypt had their judges solemnly swear: that they would not deviate from their conscience for any command, even that they themselves gave them.

This is a solemn day–it was instructive for me this morning to be reminded by Montaigne that the choice between courage and cowardice, as well as duty and self-interest, is a choice that is before each of us every day.

Previous Post

December 17, 2019

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Cages: Why Faith is Always Political

Next Post

December 19, 2019 I Will Bring You Home

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Advent AI Angels Artificial intelligence atheism attention baptism Baptists beauty belief Benedictines Bible bicycling Big Bird books Bovina Camaldoli hermitage Canada Catholicism cats certainty change Christianity Christmas Collegeville Covid-19 creativity Development of Western Civilization dogs doubt Easter Enneagram Epiphany Episcopal ethics Eucharist evil extroverts Facebook faith family fear flowers forgiveness freedom friends God goodness grace happiness heaven hell history Holy Spirit Holy Week hope human nature humility humor idolatry incarnation introverts irreverence Islam Jeanne Jesus Joe Biden joy Judaism justice Kamala Harris knowledge Lent listen literature liturgy love Marsue Memorial Day miracles movies music mystery mythology NPR Old Testament optimism paradox peace Penguins philosophy piano podcast politics power prayer Protestantism Providence College Religion Rhode Island sabbatical sacrament science seeing silence Simone Weil Socrates soul sports St. John's College stories suffering tattoo teaching technology television theology thinking time tolerance transcendence travel trees trust truth Uncategorized Vermont wisdom wonder writing

Select a Month May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz