Étienne or Estienne de La Boétie (; oc, Esteve de La Boetiá; 1 November 1530 – 18 August 1563) was a French magistrate, classicist, writer, poet and political theorist, best remembered for his intense and intimate friendship with essayist Michel de Montaigne. His early political treatise '' Discourse on Voluntary Servitude'' was posthumously adopted by the Huguenot movement and is sometimes seen as an early influence on modern anti-statist,

utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

n and civil disobedience thought.

Life

La Boétie was born in Sarlat, in the

Périgord Périgord ( , ; ; oc, Peiregòrd / ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is div ...

region of southwest France, in 1530 to an aristocratic family. His father was a royal official of the Périgord region and his mother was the sister of the president of the

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

Parliament (assembly of lawyers). Orphaned at an early age, he was brought up by his uncle and namesake, the curate of Bouilbonnas, and received his law degree from the University of Orléans in 1553. His great and precocious ability earned La Boétie a royal appointment to the Bordeaux Parliament the following year, despite his being under the minimum age. There he pursued a distinguished career as judge and diplomatic negotiator until his untimely death from illness in 1563 at the age of thirty-two. La Boétie was also a distinguished poet and humanist, translating

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...

and

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, and being closely connected with the leading young Pleiade group of poets, including

Pierre de Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a " prince of poets". Early life Pierre de Ronsard was born at the Manoir de la Possonnière, in the village of ...

Jean Daurat Jean Daurat ( Occitan: Joan Dorat; Latin: Auratus) (3 April 15081 November 1588) was a French poet, scholar and a member of a group known as '' The Pléiade''. Early life He was born Joan Dinemandy in Limoges and was a member of a noble family. ...

and

Jean-Antoine de Baïf Jean Antoine de Baïf (; 19 February 1532 – 19 September 1589) was a French poet and member of the '' Pléiade''. Life Jean Antoine de Baïf was born in Venice, the natural son of the scholar Lazare de Baïf, who was at that time French amb ...

Murray Rothbard Murray Newton Rothbard (; March 2, 1926 – January 7, 1995) was an American economist of the Austrian School, economic historian, political theorist, and activist. Rothbard was a central figure in the 20th-century American libertarian ...

"Ending Tyranny Without Violence"
La Boétie was favorable to the conciliation of

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

; "warned of the dangerous and divisive consequences of permitting two religions, which could lead to two opposed states in the same country. The most he would have allowed the Protestants was the right to worship in private, and he pointed out their own intolerance of Catholics. His policy for religious peace was one of conciliation and concord through reforms in the church that would eventually persuade the Protestants to reunite with Catholicism". He served with Montaigne in the

'' parlement'' and is immortalized in Montaigne's

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept o ...

. Some historians have questioned whether the two were lovers or not, but each played influential roles in each other's lives regardless.

Writings

La Boétie's writings include a few sonnets, translations from the classics and an essay attacking

absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism (European history), Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute pow ...

and

tyranny A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

in general, '' Discours de la servitude volontaire ou le Contr'un'' (''Discourse on Voluntary Servitude, or the Anti-Dictator''). The essay asserts that tyrants have power because the people give it to them.

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

has been abandoned once by society, which afterward stayed corrupted and prefers the slavery of the

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

to the freedom of one who refuses to dominate as he refuses to obey. Thus, La Boétie linked obedience and domination, a relationship which would be later theorised by latter anarchist thinkers. By advocating a solution of simply refusing to support the tyrant, he became one of the earliest advocates of civil disobedience and nonviolent resistance. Murray N. Rothbard summarizes La Boétie's political philosophy as follows:

To him, the great mystery of politics was obedience to rulers. Why in the world do people agree to be looted and otherwise oppressed by government overlords? It is not just fear, Boetie explains in the ''Discourse on Voluntary Servitude'', for our consent is required. And that consent can be non-violently withdrawn.

It was once thought following Montaigne's claims that La Boétie wrote the essay in 1549 at the age of eighteen, but recent authorities argue that it is "likely that the ''Discourse'' was written in 1552 or 1553, at the age of twenty-two, while La Boétie was at the university". Some Montaigne scholars have argued that the essay was in fact the work of Montaigne himself. The essay was circulated privately and not published until 1576 after La Boétie's death. He died in Germignan near

in 1563. His last days are described in a long letter from Montaigne to his own father.

Influence

In the 20th century, many European anarchists began to cite La Boétie as an influence, including

Gustav Landauer Gustav Landauer (7 April 1870 – 2 May 1919) was one of the leading theorists on anarchism in Germany at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. He was an advocate of social anarchism and an avowed pacifist. In 1919, he ...

Bart de Ligt Bartholomeus de Ligt (17 July 1883 – 3 September 1938) was a Dutch anarcho-pacifist and antimilitarist. He is chiefly known for his support of conscientious objectors. Life and work Born on 17 July 1883 in Schalkwijk, Utrecht, his father was ...

and

Simone Weil Simone Adolphine Weil ( , ; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. Over 2,500 scholarly works have been published about her, including close analyses and readings of her work, since 1995. ...

. Autonomist Marxist thinker John Holloway also cites him in his book '' Crack Capitalism'' in order to explain his idea of "breaking with capitalism".John Holloway. '' Crack Capitalism''. Pluto Press (2010). p. 6. .

Gene Sharp Gene Sharp (January 21, 1928 – January 28, 2018) was an American political scientist. He was the founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the study of nonviolent action, and professor of pol ...

, the leading theorist of nonviolent struggle, cites his work frequently in both ''

The Politics of Nonviolent Action ''The Politics of Nonviolent Action'' is a three-volume political science book by Gene Sharp, originally published in the United States in 1973. Sharp is one of the most influential theoreticians of nonviolent action, and his publications have been ...

'' and ''

From Dictatorship to Democracy ''From Dictatorship to Democracy, A Conceptual Framework for Liberation'' is a book-length essay on the generic problem of how to destroy a dictatorship and to prevent the rise of a new one. The book was written in 1993 by Gene Sharp (1928-2018), a ...

''.

Gallery

File:LaBoétie001.jpg, ''Discours de la servitude volontaire'' File:La Boétie - Œuvres complètes Bonnefon 1892.djvu, ''Œuvres complètes'' (''Complete Works''), 1892 File:Sarlat - Maison de la Boétie - PA00082964 - 002.jpg, La Boétie's home at Sarlat File:Sarlat-medieval-city-by-night-13.jpg, Birthplace of La Boétie

Bibliography

* ''Œuvres complètes'', Editions William Blake & Co., 1991. . * ''Discours de la servitude volontaire'', Editions Mille et une nuits, 1997. . * ''Discours de la servitude volontaire'', Editions Flammarion, 1993. . * ''The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude'', translated by Harry Kurz and with an introduction by

, Montrèal/New York/London: Black Rose Books, 1997. . * ''The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude'', translated by Harry Kurz and with an introduction by

, Free Life Editions, 1975. .

References

External links

*
The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude
', from The Ludwig von Mises Institute, Online Edition ( PDF). *
''Discours de la servitude volontaire'', translated and with an introduction about its reception
*
Text on Wikisource

*
Vertoog over de Vrijwillige Slavernij (pdf)

Etiennedelaboetie.net
– website dedicated to the works and life of Etienne de La Boétie *

Online-Exhibition (2012). * {{DEFAULTSORT:La Boetie, Etienne de 1530 births 1563 deaths People from Sarlat-la-Canéda Catholic philosophers French Roman Catholics Nonviolence advocates French political philosophers Renaissance philosophy 16th-century philosophers French philosophers French male writers Libertarian theorists Proto-anarchists 16th-century French poets French male poets College of Guienne alumni