Émile Littré
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Émile Maximilien Paul Littré (; 1 February 18012 June 1881) was a French
lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...
,
freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
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 ...
, best known for his ''
Dictionnaire de la langue française The ''Dictionnaire de la langue française'' by Émile Littré, commonly called simply the "''Littré''", is a four-volume dictionary of the French language published in Paris by Hachette. The dictionary was originally issued in 30 parts, 1863 ...
'', commonly called .


Biography

Littré was born in Paris. His father, Michel-François Littré, had been a gunner and, later, a sergeant-major of marine artillery in the French navy who was deeply imbued with revolutionary ideas of the day. Settling down as a tax collector, he married Sophie Johannot, a
free-thinker Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...
like himself, and devoted himself to the education of his son Émile. The boy was sent to the
Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...
, where
Louis Hachette Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ...
and
Eugène Burnouf Eugène Burnouf (; April 8, 1801May 28, 1852) was a French scholar, an Indologist and orientalist. His notable works include a study of Sanskrit literature, translation of the Hindu text ''Bhagavata Purana'' and Buddhist text ''Lotus Sutra''. He ...
became his friends. After he completed his studies at the
lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...
, he was undecided as to what career he should adopt; however, he devoted himself to mastering the English and German languages, classical and
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
literature, and
philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...
. He finally decided to become a student of medicine in 1822. He passed all his examinations in due course, and had only his thesis to prepare in order to obtain his degree as doctor when, in 1827, his father died leaving his mother without means. He abandoned his degree at once despite his keen interest in medicine, and, while attending lectures by Pierre Rayer, began teaching
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
to earn a living. He served as a soldier for the populists during 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 the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
of 1830, and was one of the members of the
National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...
who followed
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 Loui ...
to
Rambouillet Rambouillet (, , ) is a subprefecture of the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of France. It is located beyond the outskirts of Paris, southwest of its centre. In 2018, the commune had a population of 26,933. Rambouillet lies ...
. In 1831, he obtained an introduction to
Armand Carrel Armand Carrel (8 May 1800 – 25 July 1836) was a French journalist and political writer. Early life Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Armand Carrel was born at Rouen. His father was a wealthy merchant, and he received a liberal education at the '' Lyc ...
, the editor of '' Le National'', who gave him the task of reading English and German papers for excerpts. By chance, in 1835, Carrel discovered Littré's skills as a writer and from that time on, he was a constant contributor to the journal, eventually becoming its director. In 1836, Littré began to contribute articles on a wide range of subjects to the ''
Revue des deux mondes The ''Revue des deux Mondes'' (, ''Review of the Two Worlds'') is a monthly French-language literary, cultural and current affairs magazine that has been published in Paris since 1829. According to its website, "it is today the place for debates a ...
'', and in 1837, he married. In 1839, the first volume of his complete works of
Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...
appeared in print. Due to the outstanding quality of this work, he was elected to the
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions ( epig ...
in the same year. He noticed the works of
Auguste Comte Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense ...
, the reading of which formed, as he himself said, "the cardinal point of his life." From this time forward, the influence of
positivism Positivism is an empiricist philosophical theory that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positive—meaning ''a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. G ...
affected his own life, and, what is of more importance, he influenced positivism, giving as much to this philosophy as he received from it. He soon became a friend of Comte, and popularised his ideas in numerous works on the positivist philosophy. He continued translating and publishing his edition of Hippocrates' writings, which was not completed until 1862, and he published a similar edition of
Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
's '' Natural History''. After 1844, he took Fauriel's place on the committee engaged to produce the ''
Histoire littéraire de la France ''Histoire littéraire de la France'' is an enormous history of French literature initiated in 1733 by Dom Rivet and the Benedictines of St. Maur. It was abandoned in 1763 after the publication of volume XII. In 1814, members of the Académie d ...
'', where his knowledge of the early French language and literature was invaluable. Littré started work on his great ''
Dictionnaire de la langue française The ''Dictionnaire de la langue française'' by Émile Littré, commonly called simply the "''Littré''", is a four-volume dictionary of the French language published in Paris by Hachette. The dictionary was originally issued in 30 parts, 1863 ...
'' in about 1844, which was not to be completed until thirty years later. He participated in the revolution of July 1848, and in the repression of the extreme Republican Party in June 1849. His essays, contributed during this period to the ''National'', were collected together and published under the title of ''Conservation, revolution et positivisme'' in 1852, and show a thorough acceptance of all the doctrines propounded by Comte. However, during the later years of his master's life, he began to perceive that he could not wholly accept all the dogmas or the more mystic ideas of his friend and master. He concealed his differences of opinion, and Comte failed to recognise that his pupil had outgrown him, as he himself had outgrown his master
Henri de Saint-Simon Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon (17 October 1760 – 19 May 1825), often referred to as Henri de Saint-Simon (), was a French political, economic and socialist theorist and businessman whose thought had a substantial influence on p ...
. Comte's death in 1858 freed Littré from any fear of alienating his master. He published his own ideas in his ''Paroles de la philosophie positive'' in 1859. Four years later, in a work of greater length, he published ''Auguste Comte et la philosophie positive'', which traces the origin of Comte's ideas through
Turgot Turgot may refer to: * Turgot of Durham ( – 1115), Prior of Durham and Bishop of St Andrews * Michel-Étienne Turgot (1690–1751), mayor of Paris * Anne Robert Jacques Turgot (1727–1781), French economist and statesman * Louis Félix Étienn ...
,
Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemolo ...
, and Saint-Simon. The work eulogises Comte's own life, his method of philosophy, his great services to the cause and the effect of his works, and proceeds to show where he himself differs from him. He approved wholly of Comte's philosophy, his great laws of society and his philosophical method, which indeed he defended warmly against
John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...
. However, he stated that, while he believed in a positivist philosophy, he did not believe in a "religion of humanity". About 1863, after completing his translations of Hippocrates and his Pliny, he began work in earnest on his great French
dictionary A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...
. He was invited to join the
Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
, but declined, not wishing to associate himself with
Félix Dupanloup Mgr. Félix Antoine Philibert Dupanloup (3 January 180211 October 1878) was a French ecclesiastic. He was among the leaders of Liberal Catholicism in France. Biography Dupanloup was born at Saint-Félix, in Haute-Savoie, an illegitimate son of ...
,
bishop of Orléans A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
, who had denounced him as the head of the French materialists in his ''Avertissement aux pères de famille''. At this time, he also started ''La Revue de philosophie positive'' with Grégoire Wyrouboff, a magazine that embodied the views of modern positivists. Thus, his life was absorbed in literary work until the events that overthrew the
Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...
called him to take a part in politics. He felt himself too old to undergo the privations of the Siege of Paris, and retired with his family to
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
. He was summoned by Gambetta to
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...
to lecture on history, and thence to
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, u ...
to take his seat in the senate to which he had been chosen by the ''
département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...
'' of the
Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...
. In December 1871, he was elected a member of the Académie française in spite of the renewed opposition of Msgr. Dupanloup, who resigned his seat rather than receive him. Littré's ''
Dictionnaire de la langue française The ''Dictionnaire de la langue française'' by Émile Littré, commonly called simply the "''Littré''", is a four-volume dictionary of the French language published in Paris by Hachette. The dictionary was originally issued in 30 parts, 1863 ...
'' ("Dictionary of the French Language") was completed in 1873 after nearly 30 years of work. The draft was written on 415,636 sheets, bundled in packets of one thousand, stored in eight white wooden crates that filled the cellar of Littré's home in Mesnil-le-Roi. The landmark effort gave authoritative definitions and usage descriptions to every word based on the various meanings it had held in the past. When it was published by Hachette, it was the largest lexicographical work on the French language at that time. In 1874, Littré was elected
Senator for life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...
of the Third Republic. His most notable writings during these years were his political papers that attacked and revealed the confederacy of the
Orléanist Orléanist (french: Orléaniste) was a 19th-century French political label originally used by those who supported a constitutional monarchy expressed by the House of Orléans. Due to the radical political changes that occurred during that centu ...
s and
Legitimists The Legitimists (french: Légitimistes) are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They re ...
against the Republic; his re-editions of many of his old articles and books, among others the ''Conservation, révolution et positivisme'' of 1852 (which he reprinted word for word, appending a formal, categorical renunciation of many of the Comtist doctrines therein contained); and a little tract, ''Pour la dernière fois'', in which he maintained his unalterable belief in the philosophy of
Materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materiali ...
. In 1875, he applied for membership in the
Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to Fraternity, fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of Stonemasonry, stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their inte ...
Lodge ''La Clémente Amitié'' (''
Grand Orient de France The Grand Orient de France (GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonry, Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly ab ...
''). When asked whether he believed in the existence of a supreme being in the presence of 1000
Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, he replied: When it became obvious that the old man would not live much longer, his wife and daughter, who had always been fervent Catholics, strove to convert him to their religion. He had long discussions with
Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
Louis Millériot, a celebrated
Controversialist Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topic ...
, and Abbé Henri Huvelin, the noted priest of Église Saint-Augustin, who were much grieved at his death. When Littré was near death, he converted, was baptised by the abbé and his funeral was conducted with the rites of the Roman Catholic Church.''The Death-bed of a Positivist'', The New York Times, 19 June 1881
/ref> Littré is interred at
Montparnasse Cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery (french: link=no, Cimetière du Montparnasse) is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery ...
in Paris.


Works


Translations and re-editions

*Translation of the complete works of
Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history of ...
(1839–1863) *Translation of
Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...
's ''Natural History'' (1848–1850) *Translation of
Strauss Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is always spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" usually ref ...
's ''Vie de Jésus'' (1839–1840) *Translation of Müller's ''Manuel de physiologie'' (1851) *Re-edition of the political writings of
Armand Carrel Armand Carrel (8 May 1800 – 25 July 1836) was a French journalist and political writer. Early life Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Armand Carrel was born at Rouen. His father was a wealthy merchant, and he received a liberal education at the '' Lyc ...
, with notes (1854–1858)


Dictionaries and writings on language

*''Reprise du Dictionnaire de médecine, de chirurgie, etc.'' with Charles-Philippe Robin, of Pierre-Hubert Nysten (1855) *''Histoire de la langue française'' a collection of magazine articles (1862) *''Dictionnaire de la langue française'' ("Le Littré") (1863–1873) *''Comment j'ai fait mon dictionnaire'' (1880)


Philosophy

*''Analyse raisonnée du cours de philosophie positive de M. A. Comte'' (1845) *''Application de la philosophie positive au gouvernement'' (1849) *''Conservation, révolution et positivisme'' (1852, 2nd ed., with supplement, 1879) *''Paroles de la philosophie positive'' (1859) *''Auguste Comte et la philosophie positive'' (1863) *''La Science au point de vue philosophique'' (1873) *''Fragments de philosophie et de sociologie contemporaine'' (1876)


Other works

*''Études et glanures'' (1880) *''La Verité sur la mort d'Alexandre le grand'' (1865) *''Études sur les barbares et le moyen âge'' (1867) *''Médecine et médecins'' (1871) *''Littérature et histoire'' (1875) *''Discours de reception à l'Académie française'' (1873)


References


Sources

* For his life consult C.A. Sainte-Beuve, ''Notice sur M. Littré, sa vie et ses travaux'' (1863); and ''Nouveaux Lundis'', vol. v.; also the notice by M. Durand-Gréville in the ''Nouvelle Revue'' of August 1881; E Caro, ''Littré et le positivisme'' (1883);
Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named after ...
, ''Discours de récéption'' at the Academy, where he succeeded Littré, and a reply by
Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote influe ...
. *


Further reading

*
Jean Hamburger Jean Hamburger (15 July 1909 – 1 February 1992) was a French physician, surgeon and essayist. He is particularly known for his contribution to nephrology, and for having performed the first renal transplantation in France in 1952. Biography ...
, ''Monsieur Littré'', Flammarion, Paris, 1988


External links

* *
Collection Medic@
offers Littré's edition of Hippocrates, complete in scanned page images * *
Dictionnaire de la langue française
Littré (1863–1876) {{DEFAULTSORT:Littre, Emile 1801 births 1881 deaths Writers from Paris Politicians from Paris French agnostics Converts to Roman Catholicism from atheism or agnosticism French Roman Catholics Opportunist Republicans Members of the National Assembly (1871) French life senators French medical historians French philosophers French lexicographers French male non-fiction writers Positivists French Freemasons Members of the Académie Française Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Légion d'honneur refusals Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery 19th-century lexicographers