Pierre Paul Royer-Collard (21 June 1763 – 2 September 1845) was a French statesman and
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 ...
, leader of the
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. Head ...
group during 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:
* ...
(1814–1830).
Biography
Early life
He was born at
Sompuis
Sompuis () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France.
See also
*Communes of the Marne department
The following is a list of the 613 communes in the French department of Marne.
The communes cooperate in the following interc ...
, near
Vitry-le-François
Vitry-le-François () is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. It is located on the river Marne and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Canal. Vitry-le-François station has rail connections to Paris, Reims, Strasbour ...
(in modern-day
Marne Marne can refer to:
Places France
*Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine
*Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river
* La Marne, a commune in western France
*Marne, a legislative constituency (France)
Nethe ...
), the son of Anthony Royer, a small businessman. His mother, Angélique Perpétue Collard, had a reputation for strong character and great piety. His younger brother,
Antoine-Athanase Royer-Collard
Antoine-Athanase Royer-Collard (7 February 1768 – 27 November 1825) was a French physician and psychiatrist. He was a younger brother to philosopher Pierre-Paul Royer-Collard (1763–1845).
Royer-Collard was born in Sompuis. He studied medi ...
, was a physician and pioneer in the field of psychiatry, at one point serving as chief physician at
Charenton Asylum.
Royer-Collard was sent at 12 to the college of Chaumont of which his uncle, Father Paul Collard, was director. He subsequently followed his uncle to
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
, where he studied
mathematics
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...
.
Career
At the outbreak 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 considere ...
, to which he was passionately sympathetic, he was practising at the
Parisian bar. He was returned by his section, the Island of Saint-Louis, to the Commune, of which he was secretary from 1790 to 1792. After the revolution of 10 August in that year he was replaced by
Jean-Lambert Tallien
Jean-Lambert Tallien (, 23 January 1767 – 16 November 1820) was a French politician of the revolutionary period. Though initially an active agent of the Reign of Terror, he eventually clashed with its leader, Maximilien Robespierre, and is best ...
.
His sympathies were now with the
Gironde
Gironde ( US usually, , ; oc, Gironda, ) is the largest department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,62 ...
, and after the insurrection of the 12th Prairial (31 May 1793) his life was in danger. He returned to Sompuis, and was saved from arrest possibly by the protection of
Georges Danton
Georges Jacques Danton (; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French lawyer and a leading figure in the French Revolution. He became a deputy to the Paris Commune, presided in the Cordeliers district, and visited the Jacobin club. In Augus ...
and in some degree by his mother's influence on the local commissary of the Convention. In 1797 he was returned by his départment (Marne) to the
Council of the Five Hundred
The Council of Five Hundred (''Conseil des Cinq-Cents''), or simply the Five Hundred, was the lower house of the legislature of France under the Constitution of the Year III. It existed during the period commonly known (from the name of the ...
, where he allied himself especially with
Camille Jordan
Marie Ennemond Camille Jordan (; 5 January 1838 – 22 January 1922) was a French mathematician, known both for his foundational work in group theory and for his influential ''Cours d'analyse''.
Biography
Jordan was born in Lyon and educated at ...
. He made a well-regarded speech in the council in defence of the principles of religious liberty, but the
Coup of 18 Fructidor
The Coup of 18 Fructidor, Year V (4 September 1797 in the French Republican Calendar), was a seizure of power in France by members of the Directory, the government of the French First Republic, with support from the French military. The coup wa ...
(4 September 1797) drove him back into private life.
It was at this period that he developed his legitimist opinions and entered into communication with the comte de Provence (later
Louis XVIII of France
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 e ...
). He was the ruling spirit in the small committee formed in Paris to help forward a Restoration independent of the comte d'Artois and his party; but with the establishment of the Consulate he saw the prospects of the monarchy were temporarily hopeless, and the members of the committee resigned. From that time until the Restoration Royer-Collard devoted himself exclusively to the study of
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. He derived his opposition to the philosophy of
Étienne Bonnot de Condillac
Étienne Bonnot de Condillac (; ; 30 September 17142 August or 3 August 1780) was a French philosopher and epistemologist, who studied in such areas as psychology and the philosophy of the mind.
Biography
He was born at Grenoble into a legal fam ...
chiefly from the study of
René Descartes
René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathem ...
and his followers, and from his early veneration for the fathers of
Port-Royal Port Royal is the former capital city of Jamaica.
Port Royal or Port Royale may also refer to:
Institutions
* Port-Royal-des-Champs, an abbey near Paris, France, which spawned influential schools and writers of the 17th century
** Port-Royal A ...
. He was occupied with developing a system to provide a moral and political education consonant with his view of the needs of France. From 1811 to 1814 he lectured at 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, ...
.
From this time dates his long association with
François Guizot
François Pierre Guillaume Guizot (; 4 October 1787 – 12 September 1874) was a French historian, orator, and statesman. Guizot was a dominant figure in French politics prior to the Revolution of 1848.
A conservative liberal who opposed the a ...
. Royer-Collard himself was supervisor of the press under the first restoration. From 1815 onwards he sat as deputy for Marne in the chamber. As president of the commission of public instruction from 1815 to 1820 he checked the pretensions of the clerical party, the immediate cause of his retirement being an attempt to infringe the rights 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 ...
by awarding diplomas, independent of university examinations, to the teaching fraternity of the
Christian Brothers. Royer-Collard's acceptance of the legitimist principle did not prevent a faithful adhesion to the social revolution effected in 1789, and he protested in 1815, in 1820, and again under the monarchy of July against laws of exception.
He was the moving spirit of the "
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. Head ...
", as they were called, who met at the house of the comte de Ste Aulaire and in the salon of
Madame de Staël Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ...
's daughter, the duchesse de Broglie. The leaders of the party, beside Royer-Collard, were Guizot, PFH de Serre, Camille Jordan and
Charles de Rémusat
Charles François Marie, Comte de Rémusat (, 13 March 1797 – 6 June 1875), was a French politician and writer.
Biography
He was born in Paris. His father, Auguste Laurent, Comte de Rémusat, whose family came from Toulouse, was chamberlai ...
. In 1820 Royer-Collard was excluded from the council of state by a decree signed by his former ally Serre. In 1827 he was elected for seven constituencies, but remained faithful to his native department. Next year he became president of the chamber, and fought against the reactionary policy which precipitated the Revolution of July. It was Royer-Collard who in March 1830 presented the address of the 221. From that time he took no active part in politics, although he retained his seat in the chamber until 1839. Whilst during the first half of the nineteenth century the word "liberal" was generally synonymous with
Voltaireanism and hostility to the Jesuits, certain speeches of Royer-Collard quoted by
Barante show that he professed a deferential attachment for the Church. "If Christianity", he wrote, "has been a degradation, a corruption,
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
in attacking it has been a benefactor of the human race; but if the contrary be true, then the passing of Voltaire over the Christian earth has been a great calamity." In a letter to Père de Ravignan he comments upon the institution of the Jesuits as a "wonderful creation".
Personal life
Royer-Collard married Augustine Marie Rosalie de Forges de Chãtaeubrun on 20 October 1800. They had four children, two of whom predeceased them.
He died at his estate of
Châteauvieux in the
Berry
A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...
, south of
Blois
Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours.
With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...
.
Further reading
*
Prosper de Barante. (1861) ''Vie politique de M. Royer Collard, ses discours et ses écrits'' (2 vols).
*Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911) "Royer-Collard, Pierre Paul". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. 23 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 794.
* Doria, Corinne, (2018) ''Un philosophe entre deux révolutions. Pierre Paul Royer-Collard (1763-1845)''. Presses Universitaires de Rennes, p. 350.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Royer-Collard, Pierre Paul
1763 births
1845 deaths
People from Marne (department)
Politicians from Grand Est
Doctrinaires
Orléanists
Members of the Council of Five Hundred
Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration
Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy
Members of the 2nd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy
Members of the 3rd Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy
Members of the 4th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy
Members of the 5th Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy
University of Paris faculty
Members of the Académie Française