René-Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, marquis of Argenson (18 October 169426 January 1757) was a politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from November 1744 to January 1747 and was a friend of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

. His younger brother, Marc-Pierre, Count of Argenson (1696–1764), was

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 1743 to 1757.

Life

René-Louis de Voyer de Paulmy was born 18 October 1694, eldest son of Marc-René de Voyer de Paulmy d'Argenson (1652–1721) and Marguerite Le Fèvre de Caumartin (1672–1719). He had a younger brother, Marc-Pierre, Comte d'Argenson (1696–1764), who served as

from 1743 to 1747. His father was Lieutenant General of Police and

Controller-General of Finances The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of Finances () was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. It replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances (''Surintendant des finances''), which was ab ...

, one of the most important positions in 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 ...

. He was a member of the or

Nobles of the robe Under the Ancien Régime of France, the Nobles of the Robe or Nobles of the Gown () were French aristocrats whose rank came from holding certain judicial or administrative posts. As a rule, the positions did not of themselves give the holder a t ...

, a class that formed the Second Estate whose rank derived from holding judicial or administrative posts. They were usually hard-working professionals, unlike the aristocratic or

Nobles of the Sword The Nobles of the Sword () were the noblemen of the oldest class of nobility in France dating from the Middle Ages and the early modern period, and arguably still in existence by descent. It was originally the knightly class whose members owed m ...

. His

grandfather Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, or Grandma and Grandpa, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a m ...

and great-grandfather both served as French ambassador to the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

Career

D'Argenson qualified as a lawyer, and held successively the posts of councillor at the

Parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...

(1716), ''

maître des requêtes A Master of Requests () is a counsel of the French ''Conseil d'État'' (Council of State), a high-level judicial officer of administrative law in France. The office has existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages. The occupational titl ...

'' (1718), councillor of state (1719), and

Intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

of justice, police and finance in Hainaut. During his five years’ tenure of the last office he was mainly employed in provisioning the troops, who were suffering from the economic confusion resulting from John Law's system and the aftermath of the Mississippi Bubble. D'Argenson returned to court in 1724 to exercise his functions as councillor of state. At that time he had the reputation of being a conscientious man, but ill-adapted to intrigue, and was nicknamed "la bête". He entered into relations with the philosophers, and was won over to the ideas of reform. He was the friend of

, who had been a fellow-student of his at the Jesuit college Louis-le-Grand, and a leading member of the

Club de l'Entresol The Club de l'Entresol (, "Mezzanine Club") was a discussion group and early think tank in Paris, active from 1723 to 1731, created and primarily led by Abbot Pierre-Joseph Alary. Name and background The club's name came from the fact that a ...

, an early modern

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

, the history of which he wrote in his memoirs. It was then that he prepared his ''Considérations sur le gouvernement de la France'', which was published posthumously by his son. D'Argenson was also the friend and counsellor of the minister Germain Louis Chauvelin. In May 1744 he was appointed member of the council of finance, and in November of the same year King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), 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 reached maturity (then defi ...

chose him as secretary of state for foreign affairs, his brother, Marc-Pierre, Comte d'Argenson, being at the same time secretary of state for war. France was at that time engaged in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

, and the government had been placed by Louis XV virtually in the hands of the two brothers. The marquis d’Argenson endeavoured to reform the system of international relations. He dreamed of a "European Republic", and wished to establish arbitration between nations in pursuance of the ideas of his friend the

abbé de Saint-Pierre ''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...

. But he failed to realize any part of his projects. The generals negotiated in opposition to his instructions; his colleagues laid the blame on him; the intrigues of the courtiers passed unnoticed by him; whilst the secret diplomacy of the king neutralized his initiative. He concluded the marriage of the Louis, the Dauphin to Maria, a daughter of King

Augustus III of Poland Augustus III (; – "the Saxon"; ; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as List of rulers of Saxony, Elector of Saxony i ...

, but was unable to prevent the election of the Francis, Grand-Duke of Tuscany as

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

in 1745. On 10 January 1747 Louis XV thanked d'Argenson for his services. He then retired into private life, eschewed the court, associated with Voltaire, Condillac and d’Alembert, and spent his declining years in working at the

Académie des Inscriptions An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, of which he was appointed president by the king in 1747, and revising his ''Mémoires''. Voltaire, in one of his letters, declared him to be "the best citizen that had ever tasted the ministry". He died on 26 January 1757.

Works

D'Argenson left a large number of manuscript works, of which his son, Marc Antoine René, Marquis de Paulmy, published the ''Considérations sur le gouvernement de France'' (Amsterdam, 1764) and ''Essais dans le goût de ceux de Montaigne'' (Amsterdam, 1785). The latter, which contains many useful biographical notes and portraits of his contemporaries, was republished in 1787 as ''Loisirs d’un ministre d’état''. D'Argenson's most important work, however, is his ''Mémoires'', covering in great detail the years 1725 to 1756, with an introductory part giving his recollections since the year 1696. They are, as they were intended to be, valuable "materials for the history of his time". There are two important editions, the first, with some letters, not elsewhere published, by the marquis d’Argenson, his great-grand-nephew (5 vols., Paris, 1857 et seq.); the second, more correct, but less complete, published by J. B. Rathery, for the Société de l’Histoire de France (9 vols., Paris, 1859 et seq.). The other works of the marquis d’Argenson, in MS., were destroyed in the fire at the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

library in 1871.

Family

D'Argenson married and had a son: *

Marc Antoine René de Voyer Marc Antoine René de Voyer, Marquis de Paulmy and Marquis d'Argenson (1757) (22 November 1722, Valenciennes13 August 1787), was a French ambassador to Switzerland, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Republic of Venice and to the Holy See, ...

(1722–1787), known as the marquis de Paulmy, served as Minister of War and was a noted

bibliophile A bookworm or bibliophile is an individual who loves and frequently reads or collects books. Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. Bibliophiles may have large, specialized book collections. They may highly value old editions, aut ...

Influence

In 1909, the anarchist

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism. Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, Kropotkin attended the Page Corps and later s ...

credited d'Argenson with making the study of politics, constitutions, and elective representation popular in the 18th century and for being an early advocate of communist or communal possession of the land.

References

Sources

* Endnotes: * **Levasseur. "Le Marquis d’Argenson£ in the ''Mémoires de l’Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques'', (vol. lxxxvii., 1868) ** E. Zevort, ''Le Marquis d’Argenson et le ministère des affaires étrangères'', (Paris, 1880) **G. de R. de Flassan, ''Histoire de la diplomatie française'', (2nd ed., 1811) **Voltaire, ''Siècle de Louis XV'' **E. Boutaric, ''Correspondance secrète inédite de Louis XV'', (1866) **E. Champion, "Le Marquis d’Argenson", in the ''Révolution française'', (vol. xxxvi., 1899) **A. Alem, ''D’Argenson économiste'' (Paris, 1899) **Arthur Ogle, ''The Marquis d’Argenson'' (1893)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Argenson, Rene Louis De Voyer De Paulmy D' 1694 births 1757 deaths Politicians from Paris Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 18th-century French politicians Rene-Louis de Voyer de Paulmy, marquis d' French bibliophiles Enlightenment philosophers Age of Enlightenment Foreign ministers of France Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni