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Louis Gabriel Ambroise,
Vicomte A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
de Bonald (2 October 1754 – 23 November 1840) was a French
counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution, particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revolu ...
philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...
. He is mainly remembered for developing a theoretical framework from which French
sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...
would emerge.


Life


Early life and education

Bonald came from an ancient noble family of Provence. Louis was born in the chateau of Le Monna, a modest estate that served as the
family seat A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families ...
; the only son in his family, Louis was heir to the family estate. Le Monna is situated just east of the
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
of
Millau Millau (; oc, Milhau ) is a commune in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. One of two subprefectures in Aveyron alongside Villefranche-de-Rouergue, it is located to the southeast of the prefecture, Rodez. W ...
, overlooking the Dourbie river. His father, Antoine Sébastien de Bonald, died when Louis was four years old and the young boy would be brought up by his pious mother Anne ''née'' de Boyer du Bosc de Périe. Like many in the provincial nobility of the time, Anne was influenced by the
Jansenists Jansenism was an Early modern period, early modern Christian theology, theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human Total depravity, depravity, the necessity of divine g ...
and brought up her son with a stern Catholic piety. De Bonald was tutored at Le Monna until the age of eleven, when he was sent to boarding school in Paris. He would then move to the Oratorian
College of Juilly The College of Juilly (French: ''Collège de Juilly'') was a Catholic private teaching establishment located in the commune of Juilly, in Seine-et-Marne (France). Directed by the French Oratorians, it was created in 1638 by the congregationis ...
at age fifteen at the behest of his mother. The
Oratorians An Oratorian is a member of one of the following religious orders: * Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (Roman Catholic), who use the postnominal letters C.O. * Oratory of Jesus (Roman Catholic) * Oratory of the Good Shepherd (Anglican) * Teologisk Orator ...
were known for their rigor and grounded de Bonald in the
classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
, as well as in mathematics, philosophy, and especially history. The headmaster of the school, Father Mandar, was a friend of Swiss philosopher
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
, and de Bonald was most likely acquainted with the writings of the ''
philosophes The ''philosophes'' () were the intellectuals of the 18th-century Enlightenment.Kishlansky, Mark, ''et al.'' ''A Brief History of Western Civilization: The Unfinished Legacy, volume II: Since 1555.'' (5th ed. 2007). Few were primarily philosophe ...
'' early on. He left Juilly in 1772 and entered the musketeers the following year. His unit was attached to King
Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...
at
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
before being disbanded in 1776. After leaving the military, de Bonald returned to his estates in his native region of Rouergue. He assumed the life of a country gentleman, and took an interest in growing his properties and making them as productive as possible. He married a country nobleman’s daughter, Elisabeth-Marguerite de Guibal de Combescure, and the two had seven children, four of whom lived past childhood. One of their sons, Louis Jacques Maurice de Bonald, would go on to become the Cardinal-Archbishop of Lyon. His other son, Victor, would have a writing career of his own and would write a biography of his father.


Revolution and exile

He was elected to the town council of Millau in 1782 and was appointed mayor by the province's royal governor in 1785. He was popular as mayor and after the introduction of election for local officials in 1789, rather than appointment, he easily won reelection in February 1790. He was elected as a deputy to the departmental assembly later that year. De Bonald was at first supportive of 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 conside ...
and its initial decentralizing tendencies, and hoped the nobility would recover powers lost during the centralization of the 17th century. He even lead the citizens of Millau in drafting a letter of congratulations to the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
, King Louis XVI, and to finance minister Jacques Necker, expressing the wish that "this sacred title of citizen ndthe spirit of concord and fraternity" would lead to a new sense of solidarity. He managed to quell the
Great Fear The Great Fear (french: Grande Peur) was a general panic that took place between 22 July to 6 August 1789, at the start of the French Revolution. Rural unrest had been present in France since the worsening grain shortage of the spring, ...
in his region and would earn the thanks of the National Assembly, and he would be elected president of the departmental assembly soon after. However he soured on the Revolution with the enactment of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in July 1790. Feeling unable to carry out the decrees of the Constitution in good conscience, he resigned from his post in January 1791. Fearing that his position as a former public official would make him the target of reprisals, he
emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
with his two eldest sons – leaving behind his wife, mother, and his remaining children – in October 1791 and joined the
army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
of the Prince of Condé. He was within earshot of the
Battle of Jemappes The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in County of Hainaut, Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of th ...
in November 1792. He soon settled in
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...
and later moved to Switzerland. There he wrote his first important work, the highly conservative ''Theorie du Pouvoir Politique et Religieux dans la Societe Civile Demontree par le Raisonnement et l'Histoire'' (3 vols., 1796; new ed., Paris, 1854, 2 vols.), which the
Directory Directory may refer to: * Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files * Directory (OpenVMS command) * Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network' ...
condemned. His exile would separate him from his family for more than a decade, with only a brief reunion in 1797. He returned to France in 1797 and largely spent the next five years in Paris in a sort of internal exile.
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
was an admirer of de Bonald's writings and had him removed from the list of
proscribed Proscription ( la, proscriptio) is, in current usage, a 'decree of condemnation to death or banishment' ('' Oxford English Dictionary'') and can be used in a political context to refer to state-approved murder or banishment. The term originate ...
émigrés in 1802. This amnesty granted de Bonald a greater degree of freedom to travel and publish his writings. He moved within literary and political circles, and would make the acquittance of writers such as La Harpe, Lacretelle, and, most importantly,
François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who had a notable influence on French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocrati ...
. During this time he wrote a critical review of ''
The Wealth of Nations ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', generally referred to by its shortened title ''The Wealth of Nations'', is the '' magnum opus'' of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published in ...
'' by
Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——� ...
, arguing that the true common good of a nation lies in a shared life of virtue and not simply in material prosperity. He would strike up a long correspondence and friendship with the conservative Savoyard philosopher
Joseph de Maistre Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (; 1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, and diplomat who advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immediately following the French Revolution. Despite his clo ...
, however the two would never meet. In 1806, he, along with Chateaubriand and Joseph Fiévée, edited the ''
Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published ...
''. Two years later, he was appointed counsellor of the Imperial University, which he had often attacked previously.Simpson (2005), p. 58.


Bourbon Restoration and political career

The
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...
saw de Bonald's political fortunes increase. He was made a member of the Royal Council for Public Instruction and in 1816 he was appointed to the
French Academy French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
by
Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...
. From 1815 to 1823, de Bonald served as an elected deputy for Aveyron in the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...
. A member of the
Ultra-royalist The Ultra-royalists (french: ultraroyalistes, collectively Ultras) were a French political faction from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration. An Ultra was usually a member of the nobility of high society who strongly supported Roman Cathol ...
faction (also known as "Ultras"), his speeches were extremely conservative and he vigorously sought to undo the legislation passed in the wake of the Revolution. He opposed the
Charter of 1814 The French Charter of 1814 was a constitutional text granted by King Louis XVIII of France shortly after the Bourbon Restoration, in form of royal charter. The Congress of Vienna demanded that Louis bring in a constitution of some form before he ...
, seeing it as giving too many concessions to the revolutionaries and enfeebling the government. He sought strong protections for the traditional family and in 1815 successfully argued for the repeal of laws passed during the Revolution permitting
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...
, which afterwards remained illegal in France until 1884. The Revolution had abolished the remainder of the medieval trade guilds, affording little protection to workers. The Le Chapelier Law of 1791 forbade workers the right to form workers' associations and prohibited
strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the ...
s. De Bonald worked to reverse the Le Chapelier Law and reintroduce guilds, but his efforts were unsuccessful and the right to form workers' associations would not be reintroduced in France until 1864. He also continued his writing career during this time, and his intellectual pursuits led to him visit many of Paris' Salons. Both de Bonald and Chateaubriand frequented the salon of
Juliette Récamier Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Récamier (; 3 December 1777 – 11 May 1849), known as Juliette (), was a French socialite whose salon drew people from the leading literary and political circles of early 19th-century Paris. As an icon of ...
, who drew from the leading literary and political circles of her day. He, along with Chateaubriand, contributed to various newspapers and journals, including ''The Correspondant'', a journal of French and British thinkers, as well as ''Conservateur'', a newspaper dedicated to defending the position of the Ultras. 1817 saw the publication of his ''Thoughts on Various Subjects'', and his ''Observations on Madame de Staël's Considerations on the Principle Events of the French Revolution'' in the following year''.''


Peerage and later life

In 1822, de Bonald was made Minister of State, and in the following year, he was raised to the
peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...
by Louis XVIII, a dignity which he had lost by refusing to take the required oath in 1803. This entitled de Bonald to sit in the Chamber of Peers, the upper house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon Restoration. In 1825, he argued strongly in favor of the
Anti-Sacrilege Act The Anti-Sacrilege Act (1825–1830) was a French law against blasphemy and sacrilege passed in April 1825 under King Charles X. The death penalty provision of the law was never applied, but a man named François Bourquin was sentenced to perpet ...
, including its prescription of the death penalty under certain conditions. In 1826, de Bonald briefly stepped away from politics due to the death of his wife. In 1826, the Prime Minister and leader of the Ultras, Joseph de Villèle, introduced a bill reestablishing the law of
primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...
, at least for owners of large estates, unless they chose otherwise. The Revolution had radically changed
inheritance Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Of ...
law by mandating partitive inheritance, where property is dispersed equally among heirs, in order to break up aristocratic holdings. The proposed law was met with fierce opposition from the liberal
Doctrinaires During the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revolution and power with liberty. Hea ...
, the press, and even from Dissident Ultras, such as Chateaubriand. De Bonald's ''On the Agricultural Family, the Industrial Family, and the Right of Primogeniture'' was written in defense of primogeniture,
agrarianism Agrarianism is a political and social philosophy that has promoted subsistence agriculture, smallholdings, and egalitarianism, with agrarian political parties normally supporting the rights and sustainability of small farmers and poor peasants ag ...
, and the proposed law. The government tried to manage popular outrage by attempting to pass a bill in December of that year curtailing the press, having largely withdrawn censorship in 1824. This only inflamed tensions and the proposed changes to inheritance were dropped by the government. In 1827,
Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...
created a commission on
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
and tasked de Bonald with presiding over it. This position would lead to the end of his long friendship with Chateaubriand, who opposed literary censorship. De Bonald's own attitudes towards censorship were somewhat mixed; he was in favor of taking a hard line on books since objectionable material in this form would be harder to take out of circulation, however he felt newspapers and periodicals should enjoy a greater degree of freedom. He felt that offending journalists and publishers should be first given a warning and then face legal prosecution if they continued to publish material detrimental to the public order. Bonald felt that the censorship practices of the 17th century would be anachronistic in the 19th century, and that the best way to combat error would be through the "
marketplace of ideas The marketplace of ideas is a rationale for freedom of expression based on an analogy to the economic concept of a free market. The marketplace of ideas holds that the truth will emerge from the competition of ideas in free, transparent public ...
." Bonald himself had voted against a proposed censorship law in 1817 as giving too much power to the government. He retired from the Chamber of Peers in 1829. Following the
July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first in 1789. It led to ...
and the institution of the liberal
July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...
in 1830, he retired from public life for good and spent the remainder of his days on his estate at Le Monna.


Philosophy


Politics

Bonald's political philosophy rests on the assumptions of humanity's fallenness, the need for strong government to repress man's evil tendencies, and the belief that humans are inherently social creatures. He opposed the individualistic and atomistic tendencies of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. At the heart of his political thought was the idea that the family was the basis of society and that institutions should work to protect it in its traditional form. For this reason he opposed the secularization of marriage, divorce, and partitive inheritance. He was also critical of the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
because of its negative effects on traditional patterns of family life. The sharing of power, as in a democracy, seemed ludicrous to Bonald, and the doctrine of the
separation of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typi ...
tended towards anarchy. The monarch rules for the good of society and thus represents the
general will In political philosophy, the general will (french: volonté générale) is the will of the people as a whole. The term was made famous by 18th-century Genevan philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Basic ideas The phrase "general will", as Rousseau ...
, contrary to Rousseau; whereas a multitude of individual wills, even when united in purpose, do not constitute the general will.


Economics

Bonald was also an early critic of ''
laissez-faire ''Laissez-faire'' ( ; from french: laissez faire , ) is an economic system in which transactions between private groups of people are free from any form of economic interventionism (such as subsidies) deriving from special interest groups ...
'' economics. In 1806, he wrote a treatise critical of
usury Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is c ...
, or the practice of lending at
interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is distin ...
, and in 1810 he wrote a critical review of the French edition of ''
The Wealth of Nations ''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', generally referred to by its shortened title ''The Wealth of Nations'', is the '' magnum opus'' of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published in ...
''. He was likewise critical of Louis XVI's finance minister,
Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de l'Aulne ( ; ; 10 May 172718 March 1781), commonly known as Turgot, was a French economist and statesman. Originally considered a physiocrat, he is today best remembered as an early advocate for economic libe ...
, a
physiocrat Physiocracy (; from the Greek for "government of nature") is an economic theory developed by a group of 18th-century Age of Enlightenment French economists who believed that the wealth of nations derived solely from the value of "land agricult ...
who liberalised France's
grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...
and supported the suppression of the trade guilds. Bonald criticised Turgot as a "fanatical partisan of a materialistic politics." Elsewhere he says, " eat was not given to man to be an object of commerce, but to nourish him." Shaped by
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...
and his condemnations of Roman decadence, Bonald felt that
economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic libera ...
and unrestrained wealth would undermine the Christian character of the French people, and would lead men to become less generous and more self-centered.


Religion

Bonald was one of the leading writers of the
theocratic Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fr ...
or
traditionalist school The Traditionalist or Perennialist School is a group of 20th- and 21st-century thinkers who believe in the existence of a perennial wisdom or perennial philosophy, primordial and universal truths which form the source for, and are shared by, al ...
, which included Maistre, Lamennais,
Ballanche Pierre-Simon Ballanche (4 August 1776 – 12 June 1847) was a French writer and counterrevolutionary philosopher, who elaborated a theology of progress that possessed considerable influence in French literary circles in the beginning of the ninete ...
and Ferdinand d'Eckstein.Masseau, Didier (2000). ''Les Ennemis des Philosophes''. Editions Albin Michel. The traditionalist school, in reaction to the
rationalists In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosoph ...
, believed that human reason was incapable of even arriving at natural religion, and that tradition, the result of a primitive revelation, was necessary to know both natural religion as well as the truths of supernatural revelation. Bonald believed that the principles of good governance could be deduced from history and sacred scripture. His political thought is closely tied to his theory of the divine origin of
language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...
. Since man learns to speak through imitation, he believed that the first man must have learned to speak from God, who announced all moral principles to this first man. In his own words, "L'homme pense sa parole avant de parler sa pensée" (man thinks his speech before saying his thought); the first language contained the essence of all truth. These moral truths were then codified in
Holy Scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
. From this he deduces the existence of
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
, the divine origin and consequent supreme authority of the Holy Scriptures, and the
infallibility Infallibility refers to an inability to be wrong. It can be applied within a specific domain, or it can be used as a more general adjective. The term has significance in both epistemology and theology, and its meaning and significance in both ...
of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
. Bonald published an anti-Semitic text during the post-French Revolutionary period, ''Sur les juifs''. In it, the ''philosophes'' are condemned for fashioning the intellectual tools used to justify
Jewish emancipation Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, e.g. Jewish quotas, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It in ...
during the Revolution. Bonald accused
French Jews The history of the Jews in France deals with Jews and Jewish communities in France since at least the Early Middle Ages. France was a centre of Jewish learning in the Middle Ages, but persecution increased over time, including multiple exp ...
of not becoming "authentic" French citizens and of being a disruptive force in traditional society. Bonald called for the reversal of Jewish emancipation and endorsed new discriminatory measures.


Metaphysics

While this thought lies at the root of all his speculations, there is a formula of constant application. All relations may be stated as the triad of cause, means and effect, which he sees repeated throughout nature and society. Thus, in the
universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the univers ...
, he finds the First Cause as mover, movement as the means, and bodies as the result; in the state, power as the cause, ministers as the means, and subjects as the effects; in the family, the same relation is exemplified by father, mother and children; and in political society, the monarch as cause, ministers/nobility as means, and the subjects as effect. These three terms bear specific relations to one another; the first is to the second as the second to the third. Thus, in the great triad of the religious world—God, the Mediator, and Man—God is to the God-Man as the God-Man is to Man. On this basis, he constructed a system of political
absolutism Absolutism may refer to: Government * Absolute monarchy, in which a monarch rules free of laws or legally organized opposition * Absolutism (European history), period c. 1610 – c. 1789 in Europe ** Enlightened absolutism, influenced by the En ...
.


Influence

Bonald's writings exercised a great deal of influence over conservative and French Catholic thought throughout the 19th century. The French writer
Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...
considered himself to be an intellectual heir of Bonald and took up many Bonaldian themes in his writings, once declaring that "when it beheaded Louis XVI, the Revolution beheaded in his person all fathers of families." Bonald's influence carried on throughout the counter-revolutionary tradition in the writings of Spanish conservative
Juan Donoso Cortés Juan Donoso Cortés, marqués de Valdegamas (6 May 1809 – 3 May 1853) was a Spanish counter-revolutionary author, diplomat, politician, and Catholic political theologian. Biography Early life Cortés was born at Valle de la Serena (Extrem ...
and the ultramontane French journalist
Louis Veuillot Louis Veuillot (11 October 1813 – 7 March 1883) was a French journalist, author and anti-Semite who helped to popularize ultramontanism (a philosophy favoring Papal supremacy). Career overview Veuillot was born of humble parents in Boyne ...
. His writings also exerted a great influence over the
corporatist Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...
philosophical tradition through Frédéric le Play and René de La Tour du Pin, and through them he had an influence on the development of the principle of
solidarity ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti ...
in Catholic social thought. Bonald's direct influence fell into decline after World War I, especially outside of French Catholic circles. Since then he has generally suffered neglect at the hands of economic historians and historians of Catholic thought. Bonald's thought has often drawn more positive attention from historians working within the Marxist or socialist tradition.


Quotes

* "Monarchy considers man in his ties with society; a republic considers man independently of his relations to society." * "There was geometry in the world before Newton, and philosophy before Descartes, but before language there was absolutely nothing but bodies and their images, because language is the necessary instrument of every intellectual operation – nay, the means of every moral existence." * "Man thinks his word before he speaks his thought, or, in other words, man cannot speak his thought without thinking his word." * "The deist is a man who in his short existence has not had time to become an atheist." * "Absolute liberty of the press is a tax upon those who read. It is demanded only by those who write." * "The cry 'Liberty, equality, fraternity or death!' was much in vogue during the Revolution. Liberty ended by covering France with prisons, equality by multiplying titles and decorations, and fraternity by dividing us. Death alone prevailed." *"Wherever there are many machines to take the place of men, many men will be mere machines. The effects of machines, in sparing men, must be to diminish the population." *"A government should do little for the pleasures of the people, enough for their needs, and everything for their virtues."


Works

* 1796: ''Théorie du Pouvoir Politique et Religieux.'' * 1800: ''Essai Analytique sur les Lois Naturelles de l’Ordre Social.'' * 1801
''Du Divorce: Considéré au XIXe,''
Impr. d'A. Le Clere. * 1802: ''Législation Primitive'' (3 volumes). * 1815: ''Réflexions sur l’Intérêt Général de l’Europe.'' * 1817: ''Pensées sur Divers Sujets.'' * 1818: ''Recherches Philosophiques sur les Premiers Objets des Connaissances Morales.'' * 1818: ''Observations sur un Ouvrage de Madame de Staël.'' * 1819: ''Mélanges Littéraires, Politiques et Philosophiques.'' * 1821: ''Opinion sur la Loi Relative à la Censure des Journaux.'' * 1825: ''De la Chrétienté et du Christianisme.'' * 1826: ''De la Famille Agricole et de la Famille Industrielle.'' * 1830: ''Démonstration Philosophique du Principe Constitutif de la Société.'' * 1834: ''Discours sur la Vie de Jésus-Christ.''


Complete works

* ''Œuvres de M. de Bonald,'' 1817-1843 (A. Le Clere, 14 vols. in-8°). * ''Œuvres de M. de Bonald,'' 1847-1859 (A. Le Clere, 7 vols. in-8° gr.). * ''Œuvres Complètes de M. de Bonald,'' 1858 (Jacques-Paul Migne, 3 vols. in-4°). * ''Œuvres Complètes,'' Archives Karéline, 2010 (facsimile of the Migne edition).


Writings in English translation

* In Menczer, Béla, 1962. ''Catholic Political Thought, 1789-1848,'' University of Notre Dame Press. *
"The Unity of Europe,"
pp. 79–89. *
"On Domestic Society,"
pp. 89–95. * ''On Divorce,'' Transaction Publishers, 1992. * In Blum, Christopher Olaf, editor and translator, 2004. ''Critics of the Enlightenment''. Wilmington DE: ISI Books. ** 1815: "On
Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addr ...
, Bishop of
Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...
," pp. 43–70. ** 1817: "Thoughts on Various Subjects," pp. 71–80. ** 1818: "Observations on Madame de Staël's ''Considerations on the Principle Events of the French Revolution''," pp. 81–106. ** 1826: "On the Agricultural Family, the Industrial Family, and the Right of Primogeniture," pp. 107–32. * ''The True and Only Wealth of Nations: Essays on Family, Society and Economy,'' trans. by Christopher Blum. Ave Maria University Press, 2006. *In Blum, Christopher O., editor and translator, 2020. ''Critics of the Enlightenment''. Providence, RI: Cluny Media. **1810: "On the Wealth of Nations," pp. 25–34. **1815: "A Proposal to Abolish Divorce," pp. 35–44. **1817: "Thoughts on Various Subjects," pp. 45–52. **1826: "On the Agricultural Family, the Industrial Family, and the Right of Primogeniture," pp. 53–71.


See also

*
Anti-Sacrilege Act The Anti-Sacrilege Act (1825–1830) was a French law against blasphemy and sacrilege passed in April 1825 under King Charles X. The death penalty provision of the law was never applied, but a man named François Bourquin was sentenced to perpet ...
* Antoine Blanc de Saint-Bonnet *
Paternalism Paternalism is action that limits a person's or group's liberty or autonomy and is intended to promote their own good. Paternalism can also imply that the behavior is against or regardless of the will of a person, or also that the behavior expres ...


Notes


References

* Attribution: *


External links

*
Works by Louis de Bonald
at Gallica *
Works by Louis de Bonald
at
Hathi Trust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...

Louis-Ambroise Vicomte de Bonald (1754-1840)

Louis de Bonald's Univocity of Being: The Mythos of the Fait Sociale and the Rise of French Sociology
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonald, Louis Gabriel Ambroise De 1754 births 1840 deaths People from Millau French monarchists French philosophers Catholic philosophers Roman Catholic writers French counter-revolutionaries People of the Bourbon Restoration French Ultra-royalists Members of the Académie Française French male writers Conservatism in France 19th-century writers 19th-century French philosophers