Abstract: At the same time as drawing our attention to the apparent depoliticization of the second part of the Discours –a work devoted to investigating the causes of voluntary servitude– this article examines the author’s persistent desire to win over the reader. In addition to parliamentarians and de Longa himself, la Boétie seems to be addressing the reader as a friend against the backdrop of a discourse that makes private relationships and friendship the driving forces behind liberty.
