Étienne La Boétie

About the Author

Étienne de La Boétie (1530-1563) was a French writer, poet, and close friend of Michel de Montaigne, whose influential essays would later immortalize their bond. Born in Bordeaux to a family of jurists, La Boétie pursued legal studies at the University of Orléans before serving as a councillor in the Parlement of Bordeaux. His most renowned work, the 'Discours de la servitude volontaire,' written in his early twenties, boldly critiques tyranny and explores the voluntary submission of people to oppressive rule, advocating for the natural human inclination toward liberty. This seminal text, now part of the French Baccalauréat curriculum for 2026 with its accompanying pathway on 'Défendre et entretenir la liberté,' remains a cornerstone of political philosophy, influencing thinkers from the Enlightenment to modern libertarians. Though La Boétie's life was tragically short, cut down by the plague at age 32, his eloquent prose continues to inspire reflections on freedom and resistance against despotism.