1530 - 1563

Nationality:
French

Historical Period:
The Renaissance and the Reformation

Estienne de la Boétie (1530-1563) was a friend of Montaigne and made a name for himself with his poetry and translations of ancient Greek authors. He is perhaps better known today for his essay “Discourse of Voluntary Servitude” where he explores why the majority too often willingly capitulates to the demands of a tiny ruling minority.

• for an English translation of Boétie’s most famous essay, Discourse of Voluntary Servitude (1576) see the section Forgotten Gems in The Foum

Titles:

• Author: BOLL 25: Estienne de la Boétie, “The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude” (1552)
• Author: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude
• Author: Oeuvres complètes d’Éstienne de la Boétie

Quotations:

• Étienne de la Boétie provides one of the earliest and clearest explanations of why the suffering majority obeys the minority who rule over them; it is an example of voluntary servitude (1576)
• La Boétie argues that tyranny will collapse if enough people refuse to cooperate and withdraw their moral support to it (1576)

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