Louis-Gabriel de Bonald
See also: Bonald (homonymy)
Louis-Gabriel-Ambroise, Viscount of Bonald (October 2nd 1754 with Millau - November 23rd 1840 in Millau) is a politician, philosopher, writer and publicity agent French, large adversary of the French revolution.
Catholic enthusiast Monarchist and , this gentleman rouergat imbu of tradition and privileges was the great voice of the ultra Légitimiste S. In his many works, it attacks with the Déclaration of the Human rights , with the social Contract of Rousseau and the social and political innovations of the Revolution to preach the return to the authority of monarchy and the religion.
Biography
Born an old noble family from the Rouergue, Louis-Gabriel-Ambroise de Bonald enters in 1769 to the Collège of Juilly, at the Oratoriens. He is useful like Mousquetaire for a time, before returning on his grounds and marrying an young girl of good family, Elisabeth de Combescure. In 1785, he becomes mayor of Millau.
When the Revolution occurs, it of it is initially in favor. It receives a civic crown of its fellow-citizens and is re-elected in 1790 with the town hall. A few months later, it enters to the Parliament of the department, which obliges it to resign of its load of mayor. Quickly, the setting with the step of the Catholic church (sale of the goods of the clergy, civil constitution) shocks its deep religious feelings. January 31st, 1791, he thus resigns of his positions of president and deputy of the departmental Parliament and to avoid the reprisals, emigrates with his two oldest sons with Heidelberg where is the army of the Prince de Condé.
It is with Heidelberg that Bonald is discovered a vocation of writer. He takes as a starting point some volumes which he could carry with him: some volumes of Tacit, the universal History of Bossuet, the Spirit of the laws of Montesquieu and the social Contract of Rousseau. Its first work is the Théorie of the political power and religious , printed in 1796 in Constance. It announces as of the beginning its intention there: “I believe possible to show that the man cannot more give one constitution to the religious or political company, that it cannot give gravity to the bodies or the extent with the matter. ”
In 1797, it returns clandestinely to Paris. It reappears officially only after the 18 Brumaire. Fontanes, director of the Mercure de France , invites it to collaborate in its publication. Bonald also attends Louis-Mathieu Molé and Chateaubriand. In 1800, it publishes its analytical Essai on the natural laws of the social order then in 1801, Of the divorce , in which it pleads for the insolubility of the marriage. In 1802 the primitive Législation appears, at the same time as the Génie of Christianity of Châteaubriand. Commenting on the little of success of its work, contrary to that of his/her colleague, Bonald notes simply that it “gave his drug in kind and Chateaubriant gave it with sugar. ”
At that time, it is withdrawn on its grounds, while continuing to publish with the Mercure de France and the Journal of the debates . In 1806, following an article entitled “philosophical Reflections on the tolerance of the opinions”, it receives a reprimand of Fouché. The intervention of Fontanes at Napoleon in person is enough to make it raise. However, Bonald, royalist enthusiast, refuse the offer of Napoleon to make reprint his Théorie of the capacity if it withdrew the name of the king. In 1807, it also declines the position of director of the Journal of the empire .
With the Restauration its combat for monarchy is worth in Bonald an official recognition and a great influence with its ideas. Created Knight of Saint-Louis, he plays an active political role. Since 1815 he proposes a law prohibiting the Divorce treated “revolutionary poison”. The Loi Bonald which is voted on May 8th, 1816 restores the judicial separation and remains in force until 1884.
In 1816, it is named with the French Academy, by the count de Vaublanc where it occupies the armchair 30, thus succeeding Jean-Jacques Régis of Cambacérès and yielding its place to Jacques-François Ancelot. He is appointed of 1815 with 1822, then even of France in 1823. He gives up the policy in 1830 and dies into 1840 of an asthma attack. His/her son Louis-Jacques-Maurice de Bonald was archbishop of cardinal Lyon and .
Its thought
It is the leader of traditionalism; for him the company finds its origin in the capacity, which comes from God. The monarch preexists to the company since it constitutes it and preserves it by its only existence.
The language, arts and knowledge find their origin in a primitive revelation.
Louis de Bonald is a precursor of the Sociologie.
Works
- 1796: Theory of the political power and religious
- 1800: analytical Test on the natural laws of the social order
- 1801: Of the divorce considered at the XIXe century
- 1802: primitive Legislation (3 volumes)
- 1817: Thought on various subjects
- 1818: philosophical Research on the first objects of knowledge morals
- 1815: Reflections on the general interest of Europe
- 1818: Observations on a work of Madam de Staël
- 1819: literary, political and philosophical Mixtures
- 1830: philosophical Demonstration of the principle constitutive of the company
- 1821: primitive Legislation considered by the lights of the reason (3 volumes)
- 1821: Opinion on the relative law with the censure of the newspapers
- 1825: Of Christendom and Christianity
- 1826: Of the agricultural family and the industrial family
- 1834: Speech on the life of Jesus-Christ
- 1840-43 and 1859: complete Works (7 volumes)