La Boetie Absolutist? An episode in the history of political thought

First published in 1652-1654 and then in a new edition in 1666, the Discours politiques of the academicien Daniel de Priezac (1590-1662) have been characterized as a statement of Aristotelian politics in the service of absolutism. The aspect of interest in this article is Priezac's hitherto unnoticed practice of quoting from La Boetie's La Servitude volontaire. It may seem strange that a treatise so often associated with anti-tyrannical literature should be used in a work of political thought defending the monarchy and the state. Priezac's attempt to exploit it takes place against the background of the Fronde. Priezac was also a protege of Seguier, to whom the Discours were dedicated; and Seguier owned an (extant) manuscript of La Boetie's treatise. Through a combination of close reading and historical contextualization, this article will elucidate this absolutist turn in the reception of La Boetie.