Ximénès Doudan, born in Douai in

1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...

, died in

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 ...

on August 20, 1872, was a French journalist,

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...

and moralist

Biography

During his youth in Paris, and after a stay in

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

, he became tutor at the college Henri-IV, lived rue des Sept-Voies, and had as comrades

Saint-Marc Girardin Saint-Marc Girardin (22 February 1801 – 1 April 1873) was a French politician and man of letters, whose real name was Marc Girardin. Biography Girardin was born in Paris. After a brilliant university career in the city, he began in 1828 to cont ...

and

Silvestre de Sacy Antoine Isaac, Baron Silvestre de Sacy (; 21 September 175821 February 1838), was a French nobleman, linguist and orientalist. His son, Ustazade Silvestre de Sacy, became a journalist. Life and works Early life Silvestre de Sacy was born in Pa ...

. He wrote in ''

La Revue française LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'' and in the ''

Journal des Débats The ''Journal des débats'' ( French for: Journal of Debates) was a French newspaper, published between 1789 and 1944 that changed title several times. Created shortly after the first meeting of the Estates-General of 1789, it was, after the ou ...

''. In the mid-1820s, Girardin recommended him to Abel François Villemain, who in turn introduced him to Victor de Broglie.M . Fischer (1897), . Having become a close friend of Albertine de Staël-Holstein, daughter of Germaine de Staël who had married Victor de Broglie, he was appointed tutor to Louis-Alphonse (1812-1842), son of

Albert de Rocca Albert Jean Michel de Rocca (1788 – 31 January 1818) was a French lieutenant during the Napoleonic Wars. He was also the second husband of Anne Louise Germaine de Staël. Biography De Rocca was born in Geneva, Republic of Geneva, in 1788. He s ...

and Germaine de Staël, a child who was orphaned in 1818. Doudan became the head of the cabinet of the various ministries of the Duc de Broglie between 1830 and 1836, then remained his private secretary, before being appointed master of requests at the Conseil d'Etat. Very big reader, admirer of

Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he se ...

, he published

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

in newspapers and corresponded with a circle of friends, including

Eugénie de Guérin Eugénie de Guérin (29 January 1805 – 31 May 1848) was a French writer and the sister of the poet Maurice de Guérin. Her ''Journals'' (1861, Eng. trans., 1865) and her ''Lettres'' (1864, Eng. trans., 1865) indicated the possession of gifts o ...

and Theobald Piscatory. His preserved correspondence runs from 1823 to 1872. No book by Doudan was published during his lifetime. After his death, it was mainly Alfred-Auguste Cuvillier-Fleury who edited his ''Mélanges et Lettres'' (1876-1877), ''Lettres'' (1879), ''Pensées and fragments, followed by the Revolutions of taste'' (1881). In October 1876, Cuvillier-Fleury gave a lecture at the

Institut de France The (; ) is a French learned society, grouping five , including the Académie Française. It was established in 1795 at the direction of the National Convention. Located on the Quai de Conti in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the institute m ...

and brought out of oblivion "the amiable Doudan", whom he presented as "an unknown author, a free-thinker in the world", and whom the literary press soon described as an "unpublished moralist". Doudan was read by

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

Jean-Marie Guyau Jean-Marie Guyau (28 October 1854 – 31 March 1888) was a French philosopher and poet. Guyau was inspired by the philosophies of Epicurus, Epictetus, Plato, Immanuel Kant, Herbert Spencer, and Alfred Fouillée, and the poetry and literature of ...

, and

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

, among others. Pasteur gave a certain notoriety, quoting it in his ''Speech of acceptance to the French Academy'', to a passage from Doudan which begins with the sentence: "I have thought for a long time that someone with only clear ideas would certainly be a fool". According to

Antoine Compagnon Antoine Compagnon (born 20 July 1950 in Brussels, Belgium) is a Professor of French Literature at Collège de France, Paris (2006–), and the Blanche W. Knopf Professor of French and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, New York City ( ...

, Doudan fell after 1910 into relative oblivion.A. Companion, ''Proust essayiste: Aimer Sainte-Beuve'', 8th part, Cours du Collège de France, broadcast on France culture on July 28, 2019 �
les-cours-du-college-de-france/les-cours-du-college-de-france-emission-du-dimanche-july-28-2019 listen online

Works

* ''Mélanges et lettres'', avec une introduction de

Joseph d'Haussonville Joseph Othenin Bernard de Cléron, comte d'Haussonville (27 May 1809 – 28 May 1884), was a French politician and historian. He was born in Paris. His grandfather had been ''grand louvetier'' of France; his father was Charles Louis Bernard de Cl ...

et des notices signées

et Alfred-Auguste Cuvillier-Fleury (1876-1877). * ''Lettres'' (1879) — tomes I à IV
sur Gallica (BNF)
* ''Pensées et fragments suivis des révolutions du goût'' (1881) * ''Des révolutions du goût'', suivi de deux articles non recueillis précédemment. Introduction par Henri Moncel. Paris, 1924.

Bibliography

* Mary Fischer, ''A group of French critics: Edmond Schérer, Ernest Bersot, Saint-Marc Girardin, Ximénès Doudan,

Gustave Planche Jean Baptiste Gustave Planche (16 February 1808 – 18 September 1857) was a French art and literary critic. Life and career Already in his time as a medical student, Planche frequented artistic circles. This did nothing to promote the success of ...

'', Chicago, A.C. McClurg and company, 1897, �
on ''archive.org''
* Claire Witmeur, ''Ximénès Doudan. Sa vie et son œuvre'', Paris, E. Droz, Bibliothèque de la faculté de philosophie et lettres de l'université de Liège -LX-, 1934. *

Ernest Seillière The Baron Ernest-Antoine Seillière (1 January 1866 – 15 March 1955) was a French writer, journalist and critic. Biography Seillière was born in Paris, the son of Aimé Seillière and Marie de Laborde. He studied at the École polytec ...

, ''Un familier des doctrinaires, Ximénès Doudan'', Recueil Sirey, 1943. * Gabrielle Clopet, ''Ximénès Doudan, épistolier au XIXe siècle'', 1953.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doudan, Ximenes 1800 births 1872 deaths 19th-century French journalists French male journalists French male writers 19th-century French male writers