Quotes by Étienne de La Boétie

“Let us therefore learn while there is yet time, let us learn todo good. Let us raise our eyes to Heaven for the sake of ourhonor, for the very love of virtue, or, to speak wisely, for thelove and praise of God Almighty, who is the infallible witness ofour deeds and the just judge of our faults. As for me, I trulybelieve I am right, since there is nothing so contrary to agenerous and loving God as tyranny---I believe He has reserved,in a separate spot in Hell, some very special punishment fortyrants and their accomplices””

“There can be no friendship where there is cruelty, where there is disloyalty, where there is injustice. And in places where the wicked gather there is conspiracy only, not companionship: these have no affection for one another; fear alone holds them together; they are not friends, they are merely accomplices.””

“They only seem tall because we're on our knees.””

“Similarly, the more tyrants pillage, the more they crave, the more they ruin and destroy; the more one yields to them, and obeys them, by that much do they become mightier and more formidable, the readier to annihilate and destroy. But if not one thing is yielded to them, if, without any violence they are simply not obeyed, they become naked and undone and as nothing, just as, when the root receives no nourishment, the branch withers and dies.””

“Première raison de la servitude volontaire, c’est la coutume””

“I do not know how it happens that nature fails to place within the hearts of men a burning desire for liberty, a blessing so great and so desirable that when it is lost all evils follow thereafter, and even the blessings that remain lose taste and savor because of their corruption by servitude. Liberty is the only joy upon which men do not seem to insist; for surely if they really wanted it they would receive it. Apparently they refuse this wonderful privilege because it is so easily acquired.””

“I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces.””

“Celui qui vous maîtrise tant n’a que deux yeux, n’a que deux mains, n’a qu’un corps, et n’a autre chose que ce qu’a le moindre homme du grand et infini nombre de nos villes, sinon que l’avantage que vous lui faites pour vous détruire.””

“Soiés resolus de ne servir plus, et vous voilà libres.””

“Friendship is a sacred word, a holy thing; it is never developed except between persons of character, and never takes root except through mutual respect; it flourishes not so much by kindnesses as by sincerity. What makes one friend sure of another is the knowledge of his integrity: as guarantees he has his friend's fine nature, his honor, and his constancy.””