Paul Gustave Marie Camille Hazard (; 30 August 1878, in Noordpeene,

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

– 13 April 1944, in Paris), was a French professor and historian of ideas.

Biography

Hazard was the son of a school teacher. Starting in 1900, he attended the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

in Paris. He received a doctorate from the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in 1910 and became famous for his Ph.D. dissertation ''La Révolution française et les lettres italiennes'' (1910). Hazard began his career at the

University of Lyon The University of Lyon (french: Université de Lyon), located in Lyon and Saint-Étienne, France, is a center for higher education and research comprising 11 members and 24 associated institutions. The three main universities in this center are: C ...

in 1910, teaching

comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

. In 1919 he began teaching also at the Sorbonne. In 1925 Hazard was appointed to the chair of comparative literature at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...

in Paris. In alternating years, from 1932 until 1940, he was a visiting lecturer at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in New York. During the 1920s and 1930s, Hazard also lectured at other American schools. He was elected to the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

in 1939. After finishing his semester of teaching at Columbia in 1940, Hazard voluntarily returned to

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied z ...

in January 1941. He continued to teach, at Lyon and Paris, and to study. Later that same year Hazard was nominated to the rectorship of the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, but was rejected by the Nazis as unacceptable. Working under what have been described as cruel circumstances, he completed ''European Thought in the Eighteenth Century''. In the year of his death, an article, ''Pour que vive l'âme de la France'' (''So That the Soul of France May Live''), appeared in the clandestine review ''France de demain''. Hazard died in Paris on 13 April 1944.

Published works

Hazard founded, with Fernand Baldensperger, the ''Revue de littérature comparée'' in 1921. Some of his important writings are ''Histoire illustrée de la littérature française'' (comp. with

Joseph Bédier Joseph Bédier (28 January 1864 – 29 August 1938) was a French writer and scholar and historian of medieval France. Biography Bédier was born in Paris, France, to Adolphe Bédier, a lawyer of Breton origin, and spent his childhood in Réunio ...

, 2 vol., 1923–24); '' Leopardi'' (1913); ''

Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869), was a French author, poet, and statesman who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic and the continuation of the Tricolore as the flag of France. ...

'' (1926); ''

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' ('' The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de ...

'' (1927); ''

Don Quichotte ''Don Quichotte'' (''Don Quixote'') is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn. It was first performed on 19 February 1910 at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Massenet's ''comédie-héroïque'', like many dramatiz ...

'' (1931); and ''Les livres, les enfants et les hommes'' (1932) (''Books, Children and Men'' tr. 1944). This last work has been described as a sensitive appraisal of works written either for very young readers, or taken over by them, covering all Europe over many centuries. In this book, he was the first to point out that

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors ...

surpassed

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alb ...

in children's literature. Hazard is known today mainly for two works. The first was ''La Crise de la conscience européenne'', 1935 (''The European Mind, the Critical Years, 1680-1715, tr. 1952''). This work examined the conflict between 17th-century

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism ...

and its ideals of order and perfection and the ideas of the Enlightenment. The other was his last completed work ''La Pensée européenne au XVIIIème siècle, de

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the princi ...

Lessing Lessing is a German surname of Slavic origin, originally ''Lesnik'' meaning "woodman". Lessing may refer to: A German family of writers, artists, musicians and politicians who can be traced back to a Michil Lessigk mentioned in 1518 as being a lin ...

'' (1946) (''European Thought in the Eighteenth Century from Montesquieu to Lessing'', tr. 1954 by J. Lewis MayJames Lewis May (1873–1961) was a British Catholic author, critic, translator, and biographer. He is noteworthy for his biography of Anatole France and his 1928 translation of ''Madame Bovary''. He translated many works from Latin, French, and Italian. ) published posthumously in 1946. This work was a continuation of the subject matter discussed in ''The European Mind''. Apparently, Hazard intended a third volume which would have focused on "the Man of Feeling. On that enterprise we have already embarked. One day, perchance, we shall complete it. One day, ''si vis suppeditat'', as the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

used to say." (''European Thought in the Eighteenth Century'', p. xx) Hazard did not live to complete it.

Sources

* Ricuperati, Giuseppe. "Paul Hazard e la Storiografia dell'Illuminismo.", aul Hazard and Enlightenment historiography''Rivista Storica Italiana'' (1974) 86#2: 372-404.
''Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia'' entry
at Answers.com
From ''Encyclopædia Britannica''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazard, Paul 1878 births 1944 deaths People from Nord (French department) 20th-century French historians University of Paris alumni École Normale Supérieure alumni Academic staff of the Collège de France Academic staff of the University of Lyon Columbia University faculty Academic staff of the University of Paris Members of the Académie Française Lycée Lakanal alumni French male writers Comparative literature academics