author
Estienne de La Boétie
1530–1563
A brilliant Renaissance humanist who died young, he is still remembered for a strikingly modern question: why do people obey tyranny when they could refuse it. His short life also left one of literature’s most famous friendships, with Michel de Montaigne.
1 Audiobook
Notice bio-bibliographique sur La Boëtie, suivie de La Servitude volontaire
by J.-F. (Jean-François) Payen, Estienne de La Boétie
About the author
Born in Sarlat on November 1, 1530, Estienne de La Boétie was a French magistrate, poet, classical scholar, and political thinker. He studied law at the University of Orléans and went on to serve in the Parlement of Bordeaux, building a reputation as a learned and gifted public servant.
He is best known for the Discourse on Voluntary Servitude, an early and daring work that asks how rulers keep power when so many people seem to accept their own subjection. Written while he was still young and published after his death, the text has continued to attract readers interested in liberty, authority, and civil resistance.
La Boétie died on August 18, 1563, at just 32 years old. He is also remembered for his deep friendship with Michel de Montaigne, who helped preserve his memory and writings, making sure this brief life had a long afterlife in French literature and political thought.