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Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
and French political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion. A committed republican from 1795, Constant backed the coup d'état of 18 Fructidor (4 September 1797) and the following one on 18 Brumaire (9 November 1799). He became the leader of the Liberal opposition in 1800, during the
Consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...
. Having upset
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
and left France to go to Switzerland then to the
Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...
, Constant nonetheless sided with him during the Hundred Days, drafting the Charter of 1815, and became politically active again during the Bourbon Restoration. He was elected to the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
in 1818 and remained in office until his death in 1830. As the head of the Liberal opposition, known as ''Indépendants'', Constant was one of the most notable orators of the Chamber as a proponent of the
parliamentary system A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their Election, democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of t ...
. During the
July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...
, he was a supporter of
Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...
ascending the throne. Besides his numerous essays on political and religious themes, Constant also wrote on romantic love. His autobiographical ''Le Cahier rouge'' (1807) gives an account of his love for Madame de Staël, whose protégé and collaborator he became, especially in the Coppet circle, and a successful novella, ''Adolphe'' (1816), are good examples of his work on this topic. Constant was a fervent liberal of the early 19th century. He refined the concept of liberty, defining it as a condition of existence that allowed the individual to turn away interference from the state or society. His ideas influenced the
Trienio Liberal The , () or Three Liberal Years, was a period of three years in Spain between 1820 and 1823 when a liberal government ruled Spain after a military uprising in January 1820 by the lieutenant-colonel Rafael del Riego against the absolutist rule ...
movement in Spain, the Liberal Revolution of 1820 in Portugal, the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
, the
November uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...
in Poland, the
Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was a conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. The ...
, and liberalism in Brazil and Mexico.


Biography

Henri-Benjamin Constant was born in
Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
to the Constant de Rebecque family, descendants of French
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
s who had fled from Artois to Switzerland during the
French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...
in the 16th century. His father, Jules Constant de Rebecque, served as a high-ranking officer in the
Dutch States Army The Dutch States Army () was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This army was brought to such a size ...
, like his grandfather, his uncle and his cousin Jean Victor de Constant Rebecque. When Constant's mother, Henriette-Pauline de Chandieu-Villars, died soon after his birth, both his grandmothers took care of him. Private tutors educated him in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
(1779) and in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
(1780). While at the Protestant University of Erlangen (1783), he gained access to the court of Duchess Sophie Caroline Marie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. He had to leave after an affair with a girl, and moved to the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
. There he lived at the home of Andrew Duncan and was befriended by James Mackintosh and Malcolm Laing. When he left the city, he promised to pay back his gambling debts. In 1787, Constant returned to continental Europe, travelling on horseback through
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
and England. In those years European nobility, with their prerogatives, came under heavy attack from those, like Constant, who were influenced by
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
's '' Discourse on Inequality''. Constant's family criticized him for leaving out part of his last name. In Paris, at the home of Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Suard he became acquainted with Isabelle de Charriere, a 46-year-old Dutch woman of letters, who later helped publish Rousseau's '' Confessions'', and who knew his uncle David-Louis Constant de Rebecque extremely well by virtue of a 15-year correspondence. While he stayed at her home in Colombier Switzerland, together they wrote an epistolary novel. She acted as a maternal mentor to him until Constant's appointment to the court of Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel that required him to move north. He left the court when the
War of the First Coalition The War of the First Coalition () was a set of wars that several European powers fought between 1792 and 1797, initially against the Constitutional Cabinet of Louis XVI, constitutional Kingdom of France and then the French First Republic, Frenc ...
began in 1792. In
Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...
, Constant married Wilhelmina von Cramm, but she divorced him in 1793. In September 1794, he met and became interested in the famous and wealthy already married Germaine de Staël, herself brought up on the principles of Rousseau. They both admired Jean Lambert Tallien and Talleyrand. Their intellectual collaboration between 1795 and 1811 made them one of the most celebrated intellectual couples of the time.


Paris

After the
Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...
in France (1793–1794), Constant became an advocate of
bicameralism Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...
and of an assembly like the
Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...
. In revolutionary France this strand of political thought resulted in the Constitution of the Year III, the
Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred () was the lower house of the legislature of the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the French Directory, Directory () period of t ...
and the Council of Ancients. In 1799, after 18 Brumaire, Constant was reluctantly appointed, on the insistence of Abbe Sieyes, by
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
to the Tribunat, despite grave reservations on the latter's part. Eventually, in 1802, the first consul confirmed in his doubts, forced Constant to withdraw because of the tenor of his speeches and his close connection with Mme de Staël. Constant became acquainted with Julie Talma, the salonnière wife of actor François-Joseph Talma, who wrote many letters to him of compelling human interest. In 1800, the Plot of the rue Saint-Nicaise, an attempt to assassinate Napoleon, failed. Nevertheless, in 1803, at a time when Britain and France were at peace, Jean Gabriel Peltier, while living in England, argued that Napoleon should be assassinated. The lawyer James Mackintosh defended the French refugee Peltier against a
libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
suit instigated by Napoleon – then First Consul of France. Mackintosh's speech was widely published in English and also across Europe in a French translation by Madame de Staël. She was forced to leave Paris as a result. De Staël, disappointed by French
rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...
, became interested in
German romanticism German Romanticism () was the dominant intellectual movement of German-speaking countries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, influencing philosophy, aesthetics, literature, and criticism. Compared to English Romanticism, the German vari ...
. She and Constant set out for
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
and
Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...
and travelled with her two children to
Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...
. Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel welcomed them the day after their arrival. In Weimar they met Friedrich von Schiller. Due to illness Johann Wolfgang Goethe at first hesitated. In
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, they met August Wilhelm Schlegel, and his brother,
Friedrich Schlegel Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel ( ; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German literary critic, philosopher, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figures of Jena Roma ...
. Constant left de Staël in
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
and in 1806 lived in
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...
and
Meulan Meulan-en-Yvelines (, before 2010: ''Meulan'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in north-central France. It hosted part of the Sailing at the 1900 Su ...
, where he started work on his novel ''
Adolphe ''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illici ...
''. In 1808, he secretly married Caroline von Hardenberg, a woman who had been divorced twice, (she was related to
Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (; ), was a German nobility, German aristocrat and polymath, who was a poet, novelist, philosopher and Mysticism, mystic. He is regarded as an inf ...
and to Karl August von Hardenberg). He moved back to Paris in 1814, where the French Restoration took place and
Louis XVIII 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. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...
had become king. As a member of the
Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
, Constant proposed a
constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
. He became friends with Madame Récamier while he fell out with Germaine de Staël, who had asked him to pay back his gambling debts when their daughter, Albertine, married Victor de Broglie. During the Hundred Days of Napoleon, who had become more liberal, Constant fled to the
Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.Tuileries to set up changes for the Charter of 1815. After the
Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...
(18 June 1815), Constant moved to London with his wife. In 1817, the year when Madame de Staël died, he was back in Paris and was elected to the
Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
, the lower legislative house of the Restoration-era government. One of its most eloquent orators, he became a leader of the parliamentary bloc first known as the ''Independents'' and later as "liberals". He became an opponent of
Charles X of France Charles X (Charles Philippe; 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 of reigning kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported th ...
during the Restoration between 1815 and 1830.G. Lanson, P. Tuffrau, Manuel d'histoire de la Littérature Française, Hachette, Paris 1953 In 1822, Goethe praised Constant in the following terms:
I spent many instructive evenings with Benjamin Constant. Whoever recollects what this excellent man accomplished in ateryears, and with what zeal he advanced without wavering along the path which, once chosen, was forever followed, realizes what noble aspirations, as yet undeveloped, were fermenting within him.
A Freemason, in 1830 King
Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...
gave Constant a large sum of money to help him pay off his debts, and appointed him to the Conseil d'Etat. Constant is said to have fathered Albertine de Staël-Holstein (1797–1838), who later married Victor de Broglie (1785–1870). Constant died in Paris on 8 December 1830 and was buried in the
Père Lachaise cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...
.


Political philosophy

Isabelle de Charrière, a Dutch-Swiss intellectual with whom Constant conducted an extensive correspondence


Ancient and modern freedom

One of the first thinkers to go by the name of "liberal", Constant looked to England rather than to
ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
for a practical model of freedom in a large mercantile society. He drew a distinction between the "Liberty of the Ancients" and the "Liberty of the Moderns". The Liberty of the Ancients was a participatory republican liberty, which gave the citizens the right to influence politics directly through debates and votes in the public assembly. To support this degree of participation, citizenship was a burdensome moral obligation requiring a considerable investment of time and energy. Generally, this required a sub-society of slaves to do much of the productive work, leaving the citizens free to deliberate on public affairs. Ancient Liberty was also limited to relatively small and homogenous male societies, in which they could be conveniently gathered together in one place to transact public affairs. The Liberty of the Moderns, in contrast, was based on the possession of
civil liberties Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties of ...
, the rule of law, and freedom from excessive state interference. Direct participation would be limited: a necessary consequence of the size of modern states, and also the inevitable result of having created a mercantile society in which there were no slaves but almost everybody had to earn a living through work. Instead, the voters would elect representatives, who would deliberate in Parliament on behalf of the people and would save citizens from daily political involvement.


Critique of the French Revolution

Constant criticised several aspects of the French Revolution, and the failures of the social and political upheaval. He stated how the French attempted to apply ancient republican liberties to a modern state. Constant realized that freedom meant drawing a line between a person's private life and that of state interference.Rosenblatt 2004 He praised the noble spirit of regenerating the state; however, he stated that it was naïve for writers to believe that two thousand years had not brought some changes in the customs and needs of the people. The dynamics of the state had changed. Ancient populations paled in comparison to the size of modern countries. He even argued that with a large population, man had no role in government regardless of its form or type. Constant emphasised how citizens in ancient states found more satisfaction in the public sphere and less in their private lives whereas modern people favoured their private life. Constant's repeated denunciation of
despotism In political science, despotism () is a government, form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute Power (social and political), power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot (as in an autocracy), but societies whi ...
pervaded his critique of French political philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Abbé de Mably. These writers, influential in the French Revolution, according to Constant, mistook authority for liberty and approved any means of extending the action of the state. Alleged reformers used the model of public force of the
Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...
, and organised the most absolute despotism in the name of the Republic. He continually condemned despotism, citing the contradiction of a liberty derived from despotism, and the vacuous nature of this ideology. Furthermore, Constant pointed to the detrimental nature of the
Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...
as an inexplicable delirium. In
François Furet François Furet (; 27 March 1927 – 12 July 1997) was a French historian and president of the Saint-Simon Foundation, best known for his books on the French Revolution. From 1985 to 1997, Furet was a professor of French history at the University ...
's words, Constant's "entire political thought" revolved around this question, namely the problem of how to justify the Terror. Constant understood the revolutionaries' disastrous over-investment in the political sphere. The French revolutionaries such as the
Sans-culottes The (; ) were the working class, common people of the social class in France, lower classes in late 18th-century history of France, France, a great many of whom became radical and militant partisans of the French Revolution in response to their ...
were the primary force in the streets. They promoted constant vigilance in public. Constant pointed out how despite the most obscure life, the quietest existence, the most unknown name, it offered no protection during the Reign of Terror. The pervasive
mob mentality Herd mentality is the tendency for people’s behavior or beliefs to conform to those of the group they belong to. The concept of herd mentality has been studied and analyzed from different perspectives, including biology, psychology and sociolo ...
deterred many right thinking people and helped to usher in despots such as Napoleon.


Commerce preferable to war

Constant believed that, in the modern world, commerce was superior to war. He attacked
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's belligerence, on the grounds that it was illiberal and no longer suited to modern commercial social organization. Ancient Liberty tended to rely on war, whereas a state organized on the principles of Modern Liberty would tend to be at peace with all other peaceful nations. Constant believed that if liberty were to be salvaged from the aftermath of the Revolution, then the chimera of Ancient Liberty had to be reconciled with the practical to achieve Modern Liberty. England, since the
Glorious Revolution of 1688 The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...
, and the United Kingdom after 1707, had demonstrated the practicality of Modern Liberty and Britain was a
constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
. Constant concluded that constitutional monarchy was better suited than republicanism to maintaining Modern Liberty. He was instrumental in drafting the "Acte Additional" of 1815, which transformed Napoleon's restored rule into a modern constitutional monarchy. This was only to last for "One Hundred Days" before Napoleon was defeated, but Constant's work nevertheless provided a means of reconciling monarchy with liberty. Indeed, the French Constitution (or Charter) of 1830 could be seen as a practical implementation of many of Constant's ideas: a hereditary monarchy existing alongside an elected Chamber of Deputies and a senatorial Chamber of Peers, with the executive power vested in responsible ministers. Thus, although often ignored in France, because of his Anglo-Saxon sympathies, Constant succeeded in contributing in a profound (albeit indirect) way to French constitutional traditions.


Constitutional monarchy

Constant developed a new theory of constitutional monarchy, in which royal power was intended to be a neutral power, protecting, balancing and restraining the excesses of the other active powers (the executive, legislature, and
judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
). This was an advance on the prevailing theory in the English-speaking world, which, following the opinion of
William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, Justice (title), justice, and Tory (British political party), Tory politician most noted for his ''Commentaries on the Laws of England'', which became the best-k ...
, the 18th-century English
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
, had regarded the King as head of the executive branch. In Constant's scheme, the executive power would be entrusted to a Council of Ministers (or Cabinet) who, although appointed by the King, were ultimately accountable to Parliament. In making this clear theoretical distinction between the powers of the King (as
head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
) and the ministers (as Executive), Constant was responding to the political reality which had become apparent in Britain for more than a century: that is, the ministers, and not the King, are responsible actors, and the King "reigns but does not rule". This was important for the development of parliamentary government in France and elsewhere. The King was not to be a powerless cipher in Constant's scheme. He would have many powers, including the power to make judicial appointments, to dissolve the Chamber and call new elections, to appoint the peers, and to dismiss ministers – but he would not be able to govern, make policy, or direct the administration, since that would be the task of the responsible ministers. This theory was literally applied in Brazil (1824) and Portugal (1826), where the King/Emperor was explicitly given " Moderating Powers" in addition to the executive power. Elsewhere (for example, the 1848 "Statuto albertino" of the
Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...
, which later became the basis of the Italian constitution from 1861) the executive power was notionally vested in the King, but was exercised only by the responsible ministers. He advocated the
separation of powers The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state (polity), state power (usually Legislature#Legislation, law-making, adjudication, and Executive (government)#Function, execution) and requires these operat ...
as a basis for a liberal State, but unlike
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 principal so ...
and most of the liberal thinkers, he advocated four powers instead of three. They were: # the Neutral Power of the Monarch, # the Executive, # the Legislative, # the
Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
. Thus the Moderating Power was a monarch, a type of judge, who was not part of government, but served as a neutral power to the government, the Executive Power was vested in the ministers that the monarch appointed and they were, collectively, the
head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...
, the Representative Powers were a separation of the Monstesquieu's
Legislative power A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers o ...
, with the Representative Power of Opinion being an elected body to represent the opinion of the citizenry and the Representative Power of Tradition was a hereditary House of Peers and the judiciary was similar to the Montesquieu's Judicial Power. Constant's other concerns included a "new type of
federalism Federalism is a mode of government that combines a general level of government (a central or federal government) with a regional level of sub-unit governments (e.g., provinces, State (sub-national), states, Canton (administrative division), ca ...
": a serious attempt to decentralize French government through the devolution of powers to elected municipal councils. This proposal reached fruition in 1831, when elected municipal councils (albeit on a narrow franchise) were created.


Imperialism and conquest

Constant was an opponent of imperialism and conquest, denouncing French colonial policy in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
and elsewhere as racist, unjust, and a violation of basic principles of human equality. He supported an extension of civil and political rights to non-white colonial subjects. He supported the
Haitian revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...
, and argued that the institutions set up by Haitians were evidence that non-Europeans could found institutions equivalent to those of Europeans. He was a staunch proponent of Greek independence from the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
.


Comparative religion

Aside from his political and literary output, Constant spent forty years working on religion and religious feeling. His publications demonstrate his desire to grasp this social phenomenon inherent to human nature, which, in whatever forms it may present, is always a search for perfectibility. If its manifestations become rigid, splitting becomes inevitable. Thus, however religious feeling may present, it needs to adapt and evolve. Constant is adamant that political authority should not meddle in the religious beliefs of the citizenry, even to defend them. In his view it is up to each person to decide where to seek their consolation, moral compass or faith. External authority cannot act upon someone's convictions, it can only act upon their interests. He also condemns a religion that is commonly regarded as utilitarian, since it degrades authentic religious feeling. Constant considers that it was necessary for
polytheism Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god. According to Oxford Reference, it is not easy to count gods, and so not always obvious whether an apparently polytheistic religion, such as Chinese folk religions, is really so, or whet ...
to decline in line with human progress. The more humans progress in their understanding, the more beneficial the effects of
theism Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of at least one deity. In common parlance, or when contrasted with '' deism'', the term often describes the philosophical conception of God that is found in classical theism—or the co ...
. Belief in a god has itself evolved. Christianity, especially
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
is, he argues, its most tolerant form and an indicator of intellectual, moral and spiritual evolution.


Novels

Constant published only one novel during his lifetime, ''
Adolphe ''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illici ...
'' (1816), the story of a young, indecisive man's disastrous love affair with an older mistress. A first-person novel in the sentimentalist tradition, ''Adolphe'' examines the thoughts of the young man as he falls in and out of love with Ellenore, a woman of uncertain virtue. Constant began the novel as an autobiographical tale of two loves, but decided that the reading public would object to serial passions. The love affair depicted in the finished version of the novel is thought to be based on Constant's affair with Anna Lindsay, who describes the affair in her correspondence (published in the ''Revue des Deux Mondes'', December 1930 – January 1931). The book has been compared to Chateaubriand's ''René'' or Mme de Stael's ''Corinne''. As a young man, Constant became acquainted with a literary friend of his uncle, David-Louis Constant de Rebecque. She was Isabelle de Charrière, a Dutch woman of letters with whom he jointly wrote an epistolary novel, under the title, ''Les Lettres d'Arsillé fils, Sophie Durfé et autres''.


Legacy

The importance of Constant's writings on the liberty of the ancients and of that of his time has dominated understanding of his work, as has his critique of the French Revolution. The British philosopher and historian of ideas, Sir
Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...
has acknowledged his debt to Constant. Constant's wider literary and cultural writings (most importantly the novella ''Adolphe'' and his extensive history of comparative religion) emphasised the importance of
self-sacrifice Self-sacrifice is the giving up of something that a person wants for themselves, so that others can be helped or protected, or so that other external values can be advanced or protected. Generally, an act of self-sacrifice conforms to the rule tha ...
and effect of human emotions as a basis for social living. Thus, while he pleaded for individual liberty as vital for individual and moral development and appropriate for modernity, he felt that egoism and self-interest were not part of a true definition of individual liberty. Emotional authenticity and fellow-feeling were critical. In this, his moral and religious thought was strongly influenced by the moral writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and German thinkers such as
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel 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 ...
, whom he read in reference to his religious history.


Bibliography


Essays


''De la force du gouvernement actuel de la France et de la nécessité de s'y rallier''
(1796)
''Des réactions politiques''
(1797)
effets de la Terreur''
(1797) * ''Principes de politique'' (1806) * ''Fragments d'un ouvrage abandonné sur la possibilité d'une constitution républicaine dans un grand pays'' (published in 1991 by Aubier, manuscript probably written between 1795 and 1810) * Benjamin Constant
"''De l'esprit de conquête et de l'usurpation dans leur rapports avec la civilisation européenne''"
Hanovre, Londres et Paris, Hahn et H. Nicolle, 1814, , , * ''Réflexions sur les constitutions, la distribution des pouvoirs et les garanties dans une monarchie constitutionnelle'' (1814) * ''De l'esprit de conquête et d'usurpation dans leurs rapports avec la civilisation actuelle'' (1815) (against
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
)
''Principes de politique applicables à tous les gouvernements représentatifs et particulièrement á la constution actuelle de la France''
(1815)/ Translated as
''On the Sovereignty of the People''
1996
''De la doctrine politique qui peut réunir les partis en France''
(1816) * ''De la liberté de l'industrie'' (1818)
''Des élections de 1818''
(1818)
''Cours de politique constitutionnelle''
(1818-1820). Nouvelle édition 1836
''De la liberté des Anciens comparée à celle des Modernes''
(famous speech delivered in 1819)
''Mémoires sur les Cent-Jours''
(1819-1820)
''Commentaire sur l'ouvrage de Filangieri''
(1822) *
''De la religion, considérée dans sa source, ses formes et ses développements''. Tome premierTome IITome IIITome IVTome V
(1824–1834) (on ancient religion)
''Appel aux Nations chrétiennes en faveur des Grecs''
(1825)
''Discours de M. Bejamin Constant à la Chambre des députés''. Tome premierTome second
(1827-1828)
''Mélanges de littérature et de politique''
(1829)
''Choix de rapports opinions et discours prononcés à la chambre des deputés''
(1832)
''Du polythéisme romain considéré dans ses rapports avec la philosophie grecque et la religion chrétienne''
(1833) * ''Correspondance de Benjamin Constant et d'Anna Lindsay – L'Inconnue d'Adolphe, publiée par la baronne Constant de Rebecque.'' (Plon, 1933).


Novels

* Dennis Wood, Isabelle de Charrière et Benjamin Constant. À propos d'une découverte récente. ur ''Les Lettres d'Arsillé fils, Sophie Durfé'' et autres, roman écrit par Benjamin Constant et Madame de Charrière.In : ''Studies on Voltaire and the eighteenth century''; 215. (Oxford, Voltaire Foundation, 1982), . * ''Adolphe'' (1816) quotes


Autobiographical writings

* ''Le Cahier rouge'' (1807), published posthumously (1907) * ''Cécile'' (écrit vers 1809), published posthumously (1951)Henriot, Émile
« Benjamin Constant inédit », sur lemonde.fr
20 juin 1951 (accessed 17 February 2020).


Letters


''Lettre à M. Odillon-Barrot, avocat en la Cour de cassation, sur l'affaire de Wilfrid Regnault, condamné à mort''
(1818)
''2me lettre à M. Odilon Barrot, avocat en la Cour de cassation, sur l'affaire de Wilfrid Regnault, condamné à mort''
(1818)
''De l'appel en calomnie de M. le marquis de Blosseville, contre Wilfrid-Regnault''
(1818) * Correspondance Isabelle de Charrière et Benjamin Constant (1787–1805), Éd. Jean-Daniel Candaux. Paris, Desjonquères, 1996 * Renée Weingarten, Germaine de Staël & Benjamin Constant. ''A dual Biography'', Yale, 2008. * Lettres à Madame Récamier (1807–1830), Edition critique par Ephraïm Harpaz, Paris, Librairie C. Klincksieck, 1977.


Diary

* ''Journaux intimes'', Édition de Jean-Marie Roulin, Éd. Gallimard, collection folio classique n°6382, Paris, 2017.


See also

*
Contributions to liberal theory Individual contributors to classical liberalism and political liberalism are associated with philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment. Liberalism as a specifically named ideology begins in the late 18th century as a movement toward ...


Notes


References


Further reading

* Biancamaria Fontana, ''Benjamin Constant and the Post-Revolutionary Mind'' (1991. Yale U.P., New Haven – London) * Carpenter, Catrine. "Benjamin Constant's religious politics" ''History of European Ideas'' 35#4 (2009), 503–509. * Constant, Benjamin. ''Constant: Political Writings'' (Cambridge UP, 1988). * Dodge, Guy Howard. ''Benjamin Constant's Philosophy of Liberalism: A Study in Politics & Religion'' (1980) 195 pp. * Gauchet, Marcel. "Constant," in ''A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution,'' ed. François Furet and Mona Ozouf (1989), p. 924. * * Pitt, A. "The Religion of the Moderns: Freedom and Authenticity in Constant's De la Religion", in ''History of Political Thought''; 21#1 (2000), 67–87. * Rosenblatt, Helena, ed. ''The Cambridge Companion to Constant'', (2009. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) * Rosenblatt, Helena, ''Liberal Values: Benjamin Constant and the Politics of Religion'', (2011. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) * Steven, Vincent, K. "Benjamin Constant, the French Revolution, and the Origins of French Romantic Liberalism", ''French Historical Studies''; 23:4 (2000 Fall), pp. 607–637 in Project MUSE * Vincent, K. Steven. ''Benjamin Constant and the Birth of French Liberalism'' (Springer, 2011
online.
* * Wood, Dennis. ''Benjamin Constant: A Biography'' (1993).


Other languages

* Mauro Barberis, ''Benjamin Constant. Rivoluzione, costituzione, progresso'' (1988. Il Mulino, Bologna) * Paul Bastid, ''Benjamin Constant et sa doctrine'', I–II (1966. Colin, Paris) * Pierre Deguise, ''Benjamin Constant méconnu. Le livre De la religion, avec des documents inédits'' (1966. Droz, Genève) * Stefano De Luca, ''Il pensiero politico di Benjamin Constant'' (1993. Laterza, Roma-Bari) * Béatrice Fink (dir.), ''Benjamin Constant : philosophe, historien, romancier et homme d'État'' (actes du colloque de l'université du Maryland, octobre 1989), Lausanne, Institut Benjamin Constant ; Paris, J. Touzot, 1991, 186 pp. * Luca Fezzi, ''Il rimpianto di Roma. 'Res publica', libertà 'neoromane' e Benjamin Constant, agli inizi del terzo millennio'' (2012, Firenze, Le Monnier) *
François Furet François Furet (; 27 March 1927 – 12 July 1997) was a French historian and president of the Saint-Simon Foundation, best known for his books on the French Revolution. From 1985 to 1997, Furet was a professor of French history at the University ...
, "La Révolution sans la Terreur? Le débat des historiens du XIXe siècle", in '' Le Débat'' pp. 13, 41. (1981) * Henri Guillemin, ''Benjamin Constant, muscadin'', Paris, Gallimard, 1958 * Kurt Kloocke, ''Benjamin Constant. Une biographie intellectuelle'' (1984. Droz, Genève) * Giovanni Paoletti, ''Benjamin Constant et les Anciens. Politique, réligion, histoire'' (2006. Champion, Paris) * Tzvetan Todorov, ''Benjamin Constant: la passion democratique'' (1997. Hachette, Paris)


External links

* * * *
Institut Benjamin Constant homepage

Rebecq liberal


(in French)

(1816)
''Principles of Politics Applicable to All Governments''
*
Lecture on ancient and modern liberty
' contains a readable version for contemporary students
How a Classical Frenchman Predicted the 21st Century's 'Humanitarian Interventions'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Constant, Benjamin 1767 births 1830 deaths Writers from Lausanne Politicians from Lausanne Swiss people of French descent Swiss Protestants French Protestants Members of the Chamber of Deputies of the Bourbon Restoration Members of the 1st Chamber of Deputies of the July Monarchy Swiss writers in French Swiss psychological fiction writers Swiss liberal politicians Swiss philosophers 18th-century philosophers 19th-century Swiss philosophers 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers 19th-century French novelists Swiss political philosophers Swiss Freemasons French male novelists French psychological fiction writers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Coppet group
Benjamin Benjamin ( ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the younger of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel, and Jacob's twe ...
Philhellenes in the Greek War of Independence Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Liberal Party (Bourbon Restoration) People of the War of the First Coalition Natural law ethicists French political philosophers