Charles Péguy

Charles Péguy , born on January 7th, 1873 with Orleans (Loiret), dead on September 5th, 1914 with Villeroy (Seine-et-Marne) was a writer, poet and essay writer French.

Socialist militant and Supporter of Dreyfus, it is converted with the Catholicisme into 1908; it makes appear the Cahiers of About fifteen 1900 with its death. Its work includes/understands poetic collections in prose ( the Porch of the Mystery of the second virtue , 1912) and in worms ( Tapestry of Notre-Dame , 1913) of mystical inspiration, tests where it expresses its social concerns and its rejection of modernity ( the Money , 1913), but also of the plays, in particular on Jeanne d' Arc, a historical character to which there remains all his life deeply attached.

Biography

Youth

Charles Péguy is born in a modest family: his/her mother, Cecile Quéré, are chair-bottomer of chairs, and his/her father, Désiré Péguy, are carpenter. This last dies of a cancer of the stomach a few months after the birth of the child, who is raised by his grandmother and his mother. In 1885, it is noticed by the director of the Teacher training school teachers of Orleans, Theodore Naudy, who makes it enter to the college of Orleans, and a purse obtains to him which enables him to continue its studies. During these last years in Orleans, Péguy follows courses of catechism near the abbot Cornet, canon of the cathedral. With the College Pothier, though good pupil, it points out himself by his character: in April 1889, the headmaster of the college written on his bulletin: “ Always very good schoolboy, but I return from there to my council of the last quarters: we keep skepticism and sling and remain simple. I will add that a schoolboy as Péguy should never be forgotten nor to give the example of irreverence towards its Masters . ”

It obtains finally its baccalaureat on July 21st, 1891. Half-stock-broker of State, Péguy prepares then the examination entrance to the National university with the Lycée Lakanal, with Sceaux, then with Holy-Bores. He still attends the vault of the Lakanal college in 1891-1892. According to its school-fellow Albert Mathiez, it is little at the end of this period that he becomes “a convinced anticlerical and practitioner”. He integrates the National university Paris on July 31st, 1894, sixth on twenty-four allowed. Meanwhile, of September 1892 to September 1893, it makes its military service with the 131 {{E}} regiment of infantry.

In Normale sup', he is the pupil of Romain Roland and Bergson, which has a considerable influence on him. It also refines there its socialist convictions, which it affirms as of its first year at the School. When the Affaire Dreyfus bursts, it lines up near the supporters of Dreyfus. In February 1897, he writes its first article in the socialist Revue , and in June 1897, completes to write Jeanne d' Arc , a play; during the previous years, it devoted most of its time to document itself for that.

An intellectual and a visionary

October 28th, 1897, he civilly marries Charlotte-Francoise Baudouin, sister of Marcel Baudouin, one of his friendly close relations deceased three months earlier. One year later, it founds the Bellais bookstore, close to the Sorbonne; its failure with the aggregation of Philosophie definitively moves away it from the university. However, as of 1900, after the quasi-bankruptcy of its bookstore, it is detached from its associates Lucien Herr and Leon Blum and founds in the tread the Books of the fortnight , with 8 rue de la Sorbonne, review intended to publish its own works and to make discover new writers. Romain Roland, Julien Benda, Georges Sorel, Daniel Halévy and André Suarès contribute to it. The first number appears on January 5th, 1900, drawn with 1.300 specimens; in fourteen years of existence and 229 Books with very irregular publication, the review never exceeds the 1.400 subscribers, and its survival remains always precarious. It should be noted that Charles Péguy was the first to be used the term of hussards black of the Republic to appoint the teachers.

On the political plan, Péguy supports Jean Jaurès a long time, before it comes from there to regard this last as a traitor with the nation and socialism.

For Péguy, the Republic is monarchical, nationalism is philosophy-judaïque - for him the “French race” concerns a correspondence between people and a ground irrigated by centuries of Christianity - and Christianity is pagan, within the meaning of paganus , (peasant). It is with this vision of the nation that Bernanos and De Gaulle will adhere later. It is savage opposing easy universalism : I do not want that the other is the same one, I want that the other is different. It is in Babel that was confusion, known as God, this time that the man wanted to make the malignant one. .

A mystical writer

Its conversion with Catholicism probably took place between 1907 and 1908; he entrusts in September 1908 to his friend Joseph Lotte: “ I all did not say you… I found the faith… I am catholic… ”. However, its entourage had noticed for a few years already its mystical inclinations; thus, the brothers Jean and Jerome Tharaud remember to have made it cry by telling the miracles of the Virgin, in Christmas 1902. January 16th, 1910 appears its Mystère of the charity of Jeanne d' Arc , who fits clearly in the prospect for a catholic meditation and proclamation publicly her conversion. The reaction of the catholic public is rather being wary, even if the Friendship of France and the Cross make an eulogistic criticism of the work. Its intransigence and its impassioned character make it suspect at the same time to the eyes of the Church, of which it tackles the authoritarianism, and of the Socialists, of which it denounces the anticlericalism or, on late, pacifism. The same year appear Our youth and Victor-Marie, count Hugo .

He leaves twice in pilgrimage to Chartres, in 1912 and 1913. However, he does not become catholic practitioner, and would have received the sacraments only one month before its death, on August 15th, 1914, with Loupmont, whereas he was under the uniform.

Lieutenant of reserve, it leaves to shift as of the mobilization, in the 19th company of the 276e regiment of infantry. He dies in the combat at the beginning of the Bataille of the Marne, killed of a ball at the face, on September 5th, 1914 with Villeroy, close to Neufmontiers-the-Meaux, whereas he exhorted his company not to yield an inch of French ground to the enemy. One of its close relations, Joseph Tacconoux, reported that before its departure, Péguy had affirmed to him: “ You see them, my guy? With that, one will remake 93 ”.

The blessing of this patriotism per God falls under mentality go away - quasi unanimous war of the time:

“Happy those which died for the carnal ground;
but provided that it were in a right war.
Happy those which died in the great battles,
slept above ground with the face of God
Happy the harvested ears walls and corns… ”

fact echo with the evangelic Blisses. The work of Péguy has always famous the traditional values of the man: its humble work, its ground, its family. They are there the first values defended by patriotism. However it is precisely there, for him, that initially God meets. It is for this reason that Péguy can seem a theologist, cantor of the basic values.

Péguy and the Dreyfus business

Charles Péguy, at the beginning of his higher learning, is deeply revolted by the anti-semitism - at the point to have claimed a repair by duel with the gun after a joke made on his friend Albert Levy. He keeps year 1898 the memory of “an unforgettable time of revolutionary bliss”. In January of this same year, it signs all the protests published in the Dawn to ask the revision of the Dreyfus lawsuit, while at the same time it prepares aggregation. It takes part in many confrontations between supporters of Dreyfus and antidreyfusards.

Péguy antimoderne

The school reform of 1902, bearing on modern humanities and single secondary education, is undoubtedly the first occasion to which Péguy also violently expresses its rejection of the modern world: Like the Christian prepares with death, the modern one prepares with the retirement . In its Books of the fortnight, he writes: “ Today, in the distress of the consciences, we are unfortunately able to say that the modern world was, and that it was bad. ”

He separates thus little by little from the left to join the nationalist rows and wishes a war with Germany to recover the integrity of the territory.

Two years later, in Zangwill , it combines this rejection of the Modernité to that of the Progrès, “great law of the modern society”. Péguy criticizes in modernity the vanity of the man who claims to replace God, and a certain moral depreciation to which it is according to him impossible to escape in the modern world.

Works

; Tests

Of Jean Coste , 1902
Our Fatherland , 1905
Situations , 1907-1908
Our Youth , 1910
Victor-Marie, Count Hugo , 1910
a New Theologist , 1911
the Money , 1913
joint Note on Mr. Bergson and philosophy bergsonienne , 1914
joint Note on Mr. Descartes and Cartesian philosophy , 1914
Clio. Dialog of the history and pagan heart , 1931
the money continuation , 1932
Veronique. Dialog of the history and carnal heart , Gallimard, 1972

; Poetry

the Mystery of the charity of Jeanne d' Arc , 1910
the Porch of the Mystery of the second virtue , 1912
the Mystery of the Innocent Saints , 1912
Tapestry of Holy Genevieve and Jeanne d' Arc , 1913
Tapestry of Notre-Dame , 1913
Eve , 1913

; Theater

Jeanne d' Arc , Paris, Bookstore of the socialist Review, 1897

; Various

Letters and talks , 1927
Correspondence Charles Péguy - Pierre Marcel , Paris, the Friendship Charles Péguy, XXVII

; Complete works

complete Works of Charles-Péguy (1873-1914) , Paris, NRF, Gallimard, 1916-1955 (20 vol.)
complete poetic Works , Library of the Pleiad, Gallimard, 1941
complete Works in prose I , Library of the Pleiad, Gallimard, 1987
complete Works in prose II , Library of the Pleiad, Gallimard, 1988
complete Works in prose III , Library of the Pleiad, Gallimard, 1992

Random links: