Antoine de Rivarol (26 June 175311 April 1801) was a

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

French writer and translator who lived during the Revolutionary era. He was briefly married to the translator Louisa Henrietta de Rivarol.

Biography

Rivarol was born in Bagnols, Languedoc. It appears that his father, an innkeeper, was a cultivated man. The son assumed the title of comte de Rivarol, asserting a connection with the noble Italian family Riveroli, although his enemies said his name was really "Riverot" and that he was not of noble stock. After various vicissitudes, he went to Paris in 1777 and won several academic prizes. In 1780 he married Louisa Henrietta de Rivarol, a translator of Scottish descent. She had translated some works by

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

and Johnson had become a friend of her family. Antoine Rivarol abandoned his wife after a short relationship which resulted in the birth of a son.J. G. Alger, ‘Rivarol , Louisa Henrietta de (b. before 1750, d. 1821)’, rev. Rebecca Mills, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 6 Dec 2014
/ref> To Rivarol's embarrassment, a nurse who supported his abandoned wife was awarded a prize for virtuous behavior by the Académie française. Antoine was unable to quash the prize but he was able to keep his wife's name out of the report of the award. He was divorced in 1784. In 1784, his '' Discours sur l'Universalité de la Langue Française'' and his translation of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

's ''

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'' were favourably noted. The year before the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

broke out, he and Champcenetz published a

lampoon Lampoon may refer to: *Parody *Amphol Lampoon (born 1963), Thai actor and singer *''The Harvard Lampoon'', a noted humor magazine ** ''National Lampoon'' (magazine), a defunct offshoot of ''Harvard Lampoon'' ***National Lampoon, Incorporated, a 20 ...

, titled ''Petit Almanach de nos grands hommes pour 1788'', that ridiculed without pity a number of writers of proven or future talent, along with a great many nobodies. Rivarol was the foremost journalist, commentator and

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mille ...

matist among that faction of aristocrats which was most stalwartly

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

: he heaped scorn upon

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...

and defended the ''

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

''.Matyaszewski, Paweł (1997). ''La Pensée Politique d'Antoine de Rivarol''. Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego. Rivarol's writing was published in the ''Journal Politique'' of Antoine Sabatier de Castres and the '' Actes des Apotres'' of Jean Gabriel Peltier. He left France in 1792, first settling in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, then moving successively to London, Hamburg, and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where he died. Rivarol's rivals in France – in sharp conversational sayings – included

Alexis Piron Alexis Piron (9 July 1689 – 21 January 1773) was a French epigrammatist and dramatist. Life He was born at Dijon, where his father, Aimé Piron, was an apothecary. Piron senior wrote verse in the Burgundian language. Alexis began life as c ...

and

Nicolas Chamfort Sébastien-Roch Nicolas, known in his adult life as Nicolas Chamfort and as Sébastien Nicolas de Chamfort (; 6 April 1741 – 13 April 1794), was a French writer, best known for his epigrams and aphorisms. He was secretary to Louis XVI's siste ...

. His brother, Claude François Rivarol (1762–1848), was also an author. His works include a novel, ''Isman, ou le Fatalisme'' (1795); a comedy, ''Le Véridique'' (1827); and the history ''Essai sur les Causes de la Révolution Française'' (1827). He died as exile in

and was interred in the

Dorotheenstadt cemetery The Dorotheenstadt Cemetery, officially the Cemetery of the Dorotheenstadt and Friedrichswerder Parishes, is a landmarked Protestant burial ground located in the Berlin district of Mitte which dates to the late 18th century. The entrance to the ...

, but the site of his grave was soon forgotten.

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir '' Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful businessman and ...

, Rivarol, 1956 (German quote a
books.google.de
; German article a

, Wolf Lepenies,

Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...

, 04.08.12

Works

* (1782). ''Lettre Critique sur le Poème des Jardins''. * (1783). ''Lettre à M. le Président de *** sur le globe Airostatique, sur les Têtes Parlantes et sur l’État Présent de l’Opinion Publique à Paris''. * (1784). ''De l’Universalité de la Langue Française''. * (1785). ''L’Enfer, Poème du Dante''. * (1787). ''Récit du Portier du Sieur Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais''. * (1788). ''Le Petit Almanach de nos Grands Hommes''. * (1788). ''Première Lettre à M. Necker, sur l’Importance des Opinions Religieuses''. * (1788). ''Seconde Lettre à M. Necker sur la Morale''. * (1788). ''Le Songe d’Athalie'' (with Louis de Champcenetz). * (1789). ''Mémoire sur la Nature et la Valeur de l’Argent''. * (1789). ''Le Petit Almanach de nos Grandes Femmes'' (with Louis de Champcenetz). * (1789). ''Journal Politique-national des États-Généraux et de la Révolution de 1789''. * (1789). ''Adresse à MM. les Impartiaux ou Les Amis de la Paix Réunis chez Monseigneur le Duc de La Rochefoucault''. * (1790). ''Petit Dictionnaire des Grands Hommes de la Révolution'' (with Louis de Champcenetz). * (1790). ''Triomphe de l’Anarchie''. * (1790). ''Épître de Voltaire à Mlle Raucour, actrice du Théâtre-français''. * (1790). ''Le Petit Almanach de nos Grands-hommes''. * (1790). ''Réponse à la réponse de M. de Champcenetz au sujet de l’ouvrage de madame la B. de S*** sur Rousseau''. * (1791). ''Essai sur la Nécessité du Mal''. * (1792). ''De la Vie Politique''. * (1792). ''Lettre à la Noblesse Française, au Moment de sa Rentrée en France sous les Ordres de M. le duc de Brunswick, Généralissime des Armées de l’Empereur et du Roi de Prusse''. * (1792). ''Le Petit Almanach des Grands Spectacles de Paris''. * (1793). ''Adresse du Peuple Belge, à S. M. l’Empereur''. * (1795). ''Histoire Secrète de Coblence dans la Révolution Française''. * (1797). ''Tableau Historique et Politique des Travaux de l’Assemblée Constituante, depuis l’Ouverture des États Généraux jusqu’après la Journée du 6 Octobre 1789''. * (1797). ''Discours Préliminaire du Nouveau Dictionnaire de la Langue Française''. * (1808). ''Œuvres Complètes, Précédées d’une Notice sur sa Vie'' vol.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivarol, Antoine de 1753 births 1801 deaths People from Bagnols-sur-Cèze French monarchists 18th-century French poets French male poets Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences 18th-century French male writers

Biography

Works

References

Further reading

External links