Simon-Nicholas Henri Linguet (14 July 1736 – 27 June 1794) was a
French journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and
advocate
An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...
known for his conservative politics who was executed during 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 ...
.
Biography
Linguet was born in
Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
, where his father, the assistant principal in the
Collège de Beauvais
The College of Beauvais (also known the College of Dormans-Beauvais) was in Paris in what is now the Rue Jean de Beauvais. At the end of the 17th century and at the beginning of the 18th century, it was one of the leading schools of France, educ ...
of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, had recently been exiled by
lettre de cachet
''Lettres de cachet'' (; ) were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal. They contained orders directly from the king, often to enforce arbitrary actions and judgments that co ...
for engaging in the
Jansenist
Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...
controversy.
He attended the
College de Beauvais and won the three highest prizes there in 1751. He accompanied the count palatine of Zweibrücken to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, and on his return to Paris he devoted himself to writing. He published partial French translations of
Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Pedro Calderón de la Barca y Barreda González de Henao Ruiz de Blasco y Riaño (, ; ; 17 January 160025 May 1681) was a Spanish dramatist, poet, writer and knight of the Order of Santiago. He is known as one of the most distinguished Baroque w ...
and
Lope de Vega
Félix Lope de Vega y Carpio ( , ; 25 November 156227 August 1635) was a Spanish playwright, poet, and novelist. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Age of Baroque literature. His reputation in the world of Spanish literature ...
, and wrote parodies for the
Opéra-Comique
The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...
and pamphlets in favor of the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
. Received at first in the ranks of the Philosophes, he soon went over to their opponents, possibly more from contempt than from conviction, the immediate occasion for his change being a quarrel with
Jean le Rond d'Alembert
Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert (; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the ''Encyclopédie ...
in 1762. Thenceforth he violently attacked whatever was considered modern and enlightened, and while he delighted society with his numerous sensational pamphlets, he aroused the fear and hatred of his opponents by his stinging wit.
After wanderings which led him to
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...
and back through the north of France, he found himself in the town of
Abbeville
Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France.
It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...
, where he attracted the disapproval of
Duval de Soicourt, the mayor, but also the patronage of an ex-mayor and Duval's rival,
Douville de Maillefeu. His tangential involvement in their quarrels resulted in Duval's driving him from the town. He went to Paris, where he began to study law.
Law
He was admitted to the bar in 1764, just in time to become involved in the case of
François-Jean de la Barre
François-Jean Lefebvre de la Barre (12 September 17451 July 1766) was a young French nobleman. He was tortured and beheaded before his body was burnt on a pyre along with Voltaire's '' Philosophical Dictionary'' nailed to his torso. La Barre i ...
(the "Chevalier de La Barre"), whose case was being judged in Abbeville by Duval. Ultimately, he failed to save La Barre but his efforts contributed to the release of several others accused in the case, including Douville's son. This case also brought the new lawyer to instant prominence and he soon became one of the most famous pleaders of his century. But in spite of his brilliant ability and the claim by some that he had only lost two cases, the bitter attacks which he directed against his fellow advocates, especially against Gerbier (1725-1788), caused his dismissal (on dubious charges) from the bar in 1775. He then turned to journalism and began the ''Journal de politique et de littérature'', which he employed for two years in literary, philosophical and legal criticisms. But a sarcastic article on 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 Franc ...
compelled him to turn over the ''Journal'' to
La Harpe and seek refuge abroad.
Around Europe
Linguet, however, continued his freelance career, now attacking and now supporting the government, in the ''Annales politiques, civiles et litteraires'', published from 1777 to 1792, first at London, then at Brussels and finally at Paris. Attempting to return to France in 1780 he was arrested for a caustic attack on the
''duc de Duras'' (1715-1789), an academician and marshal of France, and imprisoned nearly two years in the
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was sto ...
.
He then went to London, and thence to Brussels, where, for his support of the reforms of
Joseph II
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...
, he was ennobled and granted an
honorarium An honorarium is an ''ex gratia'' payment, i.e., a payment made, without the giver recognizing themselves as having any liability or legal obligation, to a person for his or her services in a volunteer capacity or for services for which fees are no ...
of one thousand
ducat
The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wi ...
s. In 1786 he was permitted by
Vergennes to return to France as an
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n counselor of state, and to sue the
duc d'Aiguillon
Duke of Aiguillon ( French: ''duc d'Aiguillon'') was a title of French nobility in the peerage of France, first created in 1599 by Henry IV of France for Henry of Lorraine, son of Charles, Duke of Mayenne. The title takes its name from the town o ...
(1720–88), the former minister of
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 ...
, for fees due him for legal services rendered some fifteen years earlier. He obtained judgment to the amount of 24,000 livres. Linguet received the support of
Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...
; his fame at the time surpassed that of his rival
Pierre Beaumarchais
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (; 24 January 1732 – 18 May 1799) was a French polymath. At various times in his life, he was a watchmaker, inventor, playwright, musician, diplomat, spy, publisher, horticulturist, arms dealer, satirist ...
, and almost excelled that of
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 ...
. Shortly afterwards he visited the emperor at Vienna to plead the case of
Van der Noot
Van der Noot is a Dutch or Flemish surname, with several variations. Van der Noot may refer to:
* The noble family of the Count van der Noot, the current Marquess of Assche:
**Philips Erard van der Noot, 13th Bishop of Ghent.
**Roger-Wauthier van ...
and the
rebels of Brabant. Linguet warned during the 1770s and 1780s that the systematic laissez-faire theories 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 ...
and Turgot's suppression of the guilds would dissolve the traditional ties of society and lead to a conflict between a mass of unemployed people and an oppressive police state; he argued that only a politics of subsistence, welfare, and preventative nurture would prevent the coming revolution.
Execution
During the early years 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 ...
he issued several pamphlets against
Mirabeau
Mirabeau may refer to:
People and characters
* Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798–1859), second President of the Republic of Texas
French nobility
* Victor de Riqueti, marquis de Mirabeau (1715–1789), French physiocrat
* Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, com ...
, who returned his ill-will with interest, calling him 'the ignorant and bombastic M. Linguet, advocate of
Neros,
sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
s and
vizier
A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...
s'.
[Mirabeau, Victor. ''Oeuvres de Mirabeau précédées d'une notice sur sa vie et ses ouvrages''. Paris (1835). p. 156, n. 1.] On his return to Paris in 1791 he defended the rights of the
Haitian revolutionaries
Haitian may refer to:
Relating to Haiti
* ''Haitian'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Haiti
** Haitian Creole, a French-Creole based
** Haitian French, variant of the French language
** Haitians, an ethnic group
* ...
before 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 repre ...
. His last work was a defense of
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
. He retired to
Marnes-la-Coquette
Marnes-la-Coquette () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. Located from the centre of Paris, the town is situated in the Hauts-de-Seine department on the departmental border with Yvelines between the Parc de Saint-Cloud and the ...
near
Ville d'Avray
Ville-d'Avray () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The commune is part of the arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt in the Hauts-de-Seine department. In 2019, it had a population of ...
to escape the
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
, but was sought out and summarily condemned to death for having flattered the despots of Vienna and London. He was
guillotine
A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...
d in Paris on 27 June 1794.
Noted works
Linguet was a prolific writer in many fields. Examples of his attempted historical writing are ''Histoire du siècle d'Alexandre'' (Amsterdam, 1762), and ''Histoire impartiale des Jésuites'' (Madrid, 1768), the latter condemned to be burned. His opposition to the Philosophes had its strongest expressions in ''Fanatisme des philosophes'' (Geneva and Paris, 1764) and ''Histoire des revolutions de l'empire romain'' (Paris, 1766-1768). His ''Theorie des lois civiles'' (London, 1767) is a vigorous defense of absolutism and attack on the politics of
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 principa ...
. His best legal treatise is ''Mémoire pour le comte de Morangies'' (Paris, 1772); Linguet's imprisonment in the Bastille afforded him the opportunity of writing his ''Mémoires sur la Bastille'', first published in London in 1789; it has been translated into English (Dublin, 1783, and Edinburgh, 1884-1887), and is the best of his works though untrustworthy.
References
Bibliography
*
L-A. Deverite, ''Notice pour servir a l'histoire de la vie et des écrits de S. N. H. Linguet'' (Liege, 1782)
*
Gardoz, ''Essai historique sur la vie et les ouvrages de Linguet'' (Lyon, 1808)
*
Jean-François Barrière
Jean-François Barrière (12 May 1786 – 22 August 1868) was a French historian. He wrote about the French revolution, most notably an annotated biography of Madame Roland entitled ''Memoirs de Madame Roland, Avec une Notice sur sa Vie, des No ...
, ''Mémoire de Linguet et de Latude'' (Paris, 1884)
*
Charles Monselet
Charles Monselet (30 April 1825, Nantes - 19 May 1888, Paris) was a French journalist, novelist, poet and playwright, nicknamed "the king of the gastronomes" by his contemporaries. He specialised in comedic and romantic novels and his total ou ...
, ''Les Oublies et les dedaignes'' (Paris, 1885), pp. 5–38
*
Hippolyte Monin, "Notice sur Linguet," in the 1889 edition o
''Mémoires sur la Bastille''* Simon-Nicholas Henri Linguet, "Memoirs of the Bastille," (Dublin, 1783; reprint with notes 2005)
1884–87 edition*
Jean Cruppi, ''Un avocat journaliste au xviiie siècle: Linguet'' (Paris, 1895)
*
A. Philipp''Linguet, ein National-Ökonom des XVIII Jahrhunderts in seinen rechtlichen, socialen und volkswirtschaftlichen Anschauungen''(Zurich, 1896)
*
A. Lichtenberger, ''Le Socialisme utopique'' (1898), pp. 77–131.
*
Marc Chassaigne"Le procès du chevalier de La Barre" (Paris, 1920)
External links
*
*
Charles Monselet, Les oubliés et les dédaignés (in french)Simon-Nicholas Henri Linguet pamphlets and documentsfrom the Ball State University Digital Media Repository
{{DEFAULTSORT:Linguet, Simon Nicholas Henri
1736 births
1794 deaths
Writers from Reims
18th-century French male writers
18th-century French journalists
18th-century French lawyers
French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution
French male non-fiction writers
Prisoners of the Bastille