Jules Simon

Biography

Jules Simon was wire of a cloth merchant originating in Loudrefing (the Moselle), initially establishes with Lorient, then with Saint-Jean-Brévelay (1818) and finally with Uzel. He made good studies with the colleges of Lorient and Vannes and was repeater with the college of Rennes. He started early to collaborate in the Review of Brittany. He entered to the Teacher training school in 1833 and became professor of Philosophie to Caen (1836) then with Versailles (1837). Incorporated then Doctor of philosophy, it compensates Victor Cousin in his pulpit for the Sorbonne, where it made a course, very followed, on the Greek philosophers, in particular Plato and Aristote.

He collaborated in the Revue of the Two Worlds, contributed to the foundation of the Liberté to think (1847). He had already thought of the policy and, in spite of an electoral campaign of most active, he had failed the legislative elections with Lannion in 1847 against the coalition of the parties of Extrême right-hand side and Extreme left. He took his revenge, and a bright revenge, the April 23rd 1848. The department of the Coast-of-North sent it to the Constituante where it sat among the moderate ones.

Republican deputy at the constituent assembly of 1848, then of 1863 with 1871 under the Empire, it publishes studies on the working condition.

The December 7th 1851, a few days only after the Coup d'etat of the December 2nd founding the Second Empire, Jules Simon went to his course of the Sorbonne and made the following address, become famous: Dear Sirs, I make you a course of morals here. I owe you today not a lesson, but an example. France is convened tomorrow in its comices to blame or approve the events which have just occurred. It did not have there that a vote of blame, I come to say to you publicly that it will be mine.

It was revoked the following day and was deprived, consequently, of its conference of the Teacher training school. It was withdrawn initially with Nantes where it employed its leisures with historical research. Then, to mark its opposition to the Empire, it published “ the Duty ” (1854) which had an enormous repercussion. Soon followed: “ the natural Religion ” (1856); “ Freedom of conscience ” (1857), “ Freedom ” (1859), then all, conference series eloquent and impetuous on questions of socialism or philosophy.

After the war of 1870, it becomes Minister for the state education provisional government the shortly after the September 4th 1870. “ It there does not have a neutral school , said it, because there is no teacher who does not have a religious or philosophical opinion ”.

Jules Simon, who could be authoritative in soft and pleasant forms, put order in the University and obliged to resign Francisque Bouillier and Octave Layer. He filed in the obligatory project of primary school education and abruptly withdrew the April 17th 1873 following an official discourse where he allotted to Thiers only the work of the release of the territory, speech which raised with the National Assembly enough polemical sharp.

The December 16th 1875, it was elected irremovable Senator and the same member day of the French Academy. The December 13rd 1876, it took the presidency of the council and the wallet of the Interior. In the speech announcing its ministerial program, that he pronounced to obtain the nomination of the Parliament, a sentence became historical, that where he declares “ deeply preserving and deeply republican ”.

During the difficult period that the country crossed then, Jules Simon represented a policy of conciliation between the line and the extreme left, very agitated by the religious question. He could not maintain a long time the balance equal between the parties, and its ministry ended following the Crise of May 16th, 1877.

Jules Simon, with the Senate, continued to deal especially with the questions of teaching and fought the decrees on the congregations. Its last official mission, of a great glare besides, was its representation of France to the International Conference of Berlin on the Work of the March 15th 1890.

Distinctions

Member of the Academy of Science morals and political
Member of the French Academy

Quotations

the people which have best the schools is the first people. If it is not it today, it will be to it demain.

Works

Study on théodicée of Plato and Aristote (1840)
critical History of the school of Alexandria (1844-1845)
the Death of Socrate (1853)
the Duty (1854)
the natural Religion (1856)
Freedom of conscience (1857)
Freedom (1859)
the Worker (1861)
the School (1864)
Work (1866)
the eight year old Workman (1867)
the radical Policy (1868)
the Capital punishment (Bordeaux, 1869)
the Family (Paris, 1869)
the Free trade (1870)
the Government of Thiers (1871, 2 vol. in-8)
the Reform of secondary education (1874)
Memories of September 4th (1874)
God, Fatherland, Freedom (1883)
an Academy under the Directory (1884)
Thiers, Guizot, Rémusat (1885)
Our men of State (1887)
Victor Cousin (1887).
Remember of December 2nd (1889)
the Woman at the XXe century (1891)

External bonds

Obituary

Random links: