Maison d'Étienne de La Boétie

Birthplace of the philosopher who inspired Montaigne, a Renaissance gem on the main street

The house where Étienne de La Boétie was born in 1530 is one of the finest Renaissance buildings in Sarlat — a three-storey facade of carved golden limestone with mullioned windows and pilasters decorated with medallions and classical motifs. It stands on the Rue de la Boétie, just off the main square, and can be admired from the street.

La Boétie was a magistrate, poet, and philosopher, best known for his essay Discourse on Voluntary Servitude and for his friendship with Michel de Montaigne — the two men's intellectual correspondence is one of the great examples of early modern friendship. His early death at 32 was mourned by Montaigne in one of the most celebrated passages in the Essays.

The building is not open as a museum, but its exterior is reason enough to walk the Rue de la Boétie.

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A story
Étienne de La Boétie wrote his most famous work, *Discourse on Voluntary Servitude*, at the age of eighteen. It argued that tyrants hold power only because people allow them to — a radical idea in 1548, and one that was cited by anarchists and revolutionaries for centuries after his death. He died of dysentery at thirty-two. Montaigne, who considered him the greatest friend he ever had, wrote the most celebrated essay on friendship in response to the loss.