In this blog post, we examine the unfinished manuscripts Stefan Zweig left behind during his exile in Brazil, as well as the spirit of Montaigne and tolerance that he held onto until the very end.

Zweig’s Life and Exile

Stefan Zweig (1881–1942) was born in Vienna, Austria, and lived in Salzburg from 1919 to 1934. Of Jewish descent, he left Austria and sought exile in London as Hitler and the Nazi forces gained momentum in Germany and began to expand into Austria; eventually, in 1941, he left the European continent entirely and emigrated to Brazil. It is worth noting that Hitler was also of Austrian origin, a fact that helps in understanding the context of that era.
Originally a Ph.D. in French literature, Zweig was fluent in several languages, including Latin, English, and French. Starting out as a translator, he gained fame as an author through his biographies and essays. With his skill in weaving together key European figures and events in a fascinating and dramatic way, he became one of the most widely read authors in the German-speaking world and secured a broad readership globally.
This book can be considered Zweig’s “testament,” based on manuscripts he held onto until the very end but which ultimately remained unfinished. Regret over his inability to perfectly refine the quotations—due to having left many books and materials behind in England while residing in Brazil—permeates the text.

Montaigne and the 16th-Century Humanists

The figure who captivated Zweig in his final days was Montaigne, a humanist of the 16th-century era of religious wars. Zweig read Montaigne in the same vein as his earlier work—such as his biography of Erasmus and his writings on Castelli—and regarded him as his spiritual predecessor and comrade.
The reason Zweig empathized with the 16th-century humanists was the strange similarity between their era and his own. Beginning with Luther’s Reformation in 1517, Protestantism—based on Calvin’s systematic theology—rapidly gained influence and clashed with Catholicism; the differences in beliefs and customs between the two sides allowed for no compromise, escalating into bloody religious wars.
The upheavals in England in the late 16th century, the conflict between England and Scotland, the Huguenot Wars in France, the Dutch War of Independence, and the subsequent Thirty Years’ War in the 17th century were all intergroup conflicts with religious overtones. In particular, Central Europe—corresponding to present-day Germany and Austria—became the epicenter of the wars and suffered immense damage.
The Catholic Church’s persecution of heretics and the Protestant movement’s fierce resistance alternately fueled violence, and both sides committed atrocities such as the execution of heretics. This situation was no longer merely a matter of faith but became an expression of collective human madness.
Amid such a bleak era, there were humanists who advocated for and sought to practice tolerance, compromise, and moderation. Figures such as Erasmus, Castelli, and Montaigne strove to maintain a neutral stance and intellectual balance in an age of conflict, and Zweig regarded them as his mentors and kindred spirits. He saw an essential resemblance between the structure of the 16th century and the Nazi madness of the 20th century, which was based on racial ideology: namely, large-scale slaughter stemming from an attitude that refuses to acknowledge those with different beliefs.

Disillusionment with War and Humanity

Even after leaving Europe and seeking exile in South America, Zweig could not turn a blind eye to the madness unfolding in Europe. He was tormented by the question of just how far human obsession and folly would go. The fact that the immense scholarly, philosophical, and scientific achievements accumulated in Europe had culminated in such horrific destruction and war filled him with deep disillusionment.
Unable to bear this anguish, Zweig committed suicide in Brazil in February 1942, and his second wife, Lotte, took her own life alongside him. Some of the manuscripts he left behind remained unfinished.
One of the best-known unfinished manuscripts is his ‘Biography of Balzac’. This work contained the fruits of decades of research, and the manuscript was nearly complete. After the war, his friend and collaborator Richard Friedenthal tracked down the manuscripts scattered across England and Brazil, painstakingly organized and polished them, and published them as a book.
The resulting ‘Biography of Balzac’ is a work that combines the enjoyment of a dramatic account of Balzac’s life with the scholarly value of evaluating key novels from his body of work—which spans over 100 volumes—and is regarded as a valuable resource even by French scholars of Balzac.

The Montaigne Biography and the Value of Tolerance

Another unfinished manuscript left by Zweig is a book on the life of Montaigne, titled ‘The Consoling Spirit’ in Korean (original title: ‘Montaigne’). Montaigne’s most famous works are his ‘Essays’, but particularly notable aspects of his life include the highly unconventional education he received as a child and his relationship with Henry IV in his later years.
Montaigne learned Latin in a highly unusual manner, which is still viewed today as an intriguing educational experiment. Furthermore, in his later years, he served as an envoy from the Huguenot leader of Navarre to inform Henry of his decision to convert. This event played a crucial mediating role prior to Henry’s ascension to the French throne and his subsequent issuance of the Edict of Nantes (1598).
The spirit of tolerance permeates the reign of Henry IV and the Edict of Nantes, and Montaigne’s attitude aligns well with that spirit. In an era when ideologies and beliefs clashed at extremes, Montaigne lived a moderate life, maintaining a neutral and balanced intellectual stance. Tolerance—the recognition that everyone has the right to hold different opinions—is the fundamental attitude of a mature democratic society, yet it remains an ideal that is extremely difficult to put into practice.
Zweig yearned for these values of tolerance and moderation until the very end of his life. This book can be viewed as a collection of essays in which he poured out his feelings with a burning intensity right up to his final moments; though left unfinished, it conveys his inner thoughts and insights into his era.