Montaigne questions the term “barbaric” in a universal setting. He finds that it is easy to label cultures and societies that are different from us as “barbaric,” but that the term isn’t appropriate without a true understanding of the culture. Even more than that, he finds that the term cannot be used if there is an understanding of the differences and why certain societies are the way they are. Montaigne takes cannibalism, a way of life that most people would deem barbaric, as an example. He describes their values, religion, family structure, and warfare. Their values, most would agree, are noble: to have “valor against the enemy and love for their wives.” It is obvious that family is important, especially when they consider all those that are of the same age as “brothers,” those younger as “children,” and those older as “fathers.” They have a religion which they regard as a path towards the right way of life, and they seek honor. It is true that they are a war faring people, but they see war as a fight for valor and basic necessities. Unlike most “civilized” people, they do not indulge. They remain simple and in touch with the natural way of life. Montaigne argues that they are indeed natural, and “civilizations” are what is wild. “Just as we call wild the fruits that Nature has produced by herself and in her normal course whereas really it is those that we have changed artificially and led astray from the common order, that we should rather call wild.” Similarly, we shouldn’t consider people who live off of the land and what is given to us naturally to be “wild” since “wild” strays from what is normal. Montaigne admits that “normal” is relative to different people. However he interprets what is “wild” in relation to what is “normal,” and since normal varies from culture to culture, declaring cannibalism to be “wild” or “barbaric” is unjust.