tienne or Estienne de La Botie (French: [etjn d la besi] ( listen); [bwati] or [beti] in

local Prigord dialect;[2] 1 November 1530 18 August 1563) was a French judge, writer, and "a
founder of modern political philosophy inFrance."[3] He "has been best remembered as the great
and close friend of the eminent essayist Michel de Montaigne, in one of history's most
notable friendships."[3]
a Botie was born in Sarlat, in the Prigord region of southwest France, in 1530, to an aristocratic
family. His father was a royal official of the Prigord region and his mother was the sister of the
president of the Bordeaux Parlement (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 Orlans in 1553. His great and precocious ability earned La Botie a royal
appointment to the Bordeaux Parlement 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 in 1563, at the age of thirty-two. La Botie was also a distinguished poet and
humanist, translating Xenophon andPlutarch, and being closely connected with the leading
young Pleiade group of poets, including Pierre Ronsard, Jean Dorat, and Jean-Antoine de
Baif."[3] La Botie opposed religious toleration, arguing that allowing Protestants and Catholics to
both conduct worship services would undermine the crown. [citation needed]
He served with Montaigne in the Bordeaux parlement and is immortalized in
Montaigne's essay on friendship.
Boties writings include a few sonnets, translations from the classics, and an essay
attacking absolute monarchyand tyranny 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 has been
abandoned once by society, which afterward stayed corrupted and prefers the slavery of
the courtesan to the freedom of one who refuses to dominate as he refuses to obey. Thus, La
Botie linked together obedience and domination, a relationship which would be later theorised
by latter [anarchism|anarchist]] thinkers. By advocating a solution of simply refusing to support
the tyrant, he became one of the earliest advocates of civil disobedience andnonviolent
resistance. Lew Rockwell summarizes La Boties 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.[4]
It was once thought, following Montaigne's claims, that La Botie wrote the essay in 1549 at the
age of eighteen, but recent authorities argue that it is "likely that theDiscourse was written in 1552
or 1553, at the age of twenty-two, while La Botie was at the university."[5] 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 Botie's death. He died
at Germignan near Bordeauxin 1563. His last days are described in a long letter from Montaigne
to his own father.