Étienne de La Boétie est surtout connu pour son livre le plus célèbre, le Discours de la servitude volontaire, un plaidoyer pour la liberté individuelle qui influença de nombreux philosophes des Lumières. Dans cette notice, Jean-François Payen retrace sa vie et revient sur l'influence qu'il a eue sur son ami Michel de Montaigne. Le livre est accompagné d'une édition critique de La servitude volontaire, un texte majeur de la pensée politique. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.