Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais
Encyclopedia
Hugues-Félicité Robert de Lamennais (June 19, 1782 - February 27, 1854), was a French
priest
, and philosophical and political writer.
on June 19, 1782, the son of a wealthy merchant. Lamennais lost his mother at the age of five and as a result, he and his brother Jean-Marie
were sent for education to an uncle, Robert des Saudrais at La Chênaie, an estate near Saint-Malo. He spent long hours in his uncle's library, reading Rousseau
and Pascal
, among others, and acquired a vast and varied learning.
, he developed a morbid frame of mind. He first held rationalistic views, but partly through the influence of his brother Jean-Marie and partly as a result of his philosophical and historical studies, he came to see the power of faith and religion. He voiced his convictions in , published anonymously in Paris in 1808. It recommended religious revival and active clerical organization and the awakening of an ultramontane spirit. Napoleon's police deemed the book dangerously ideological and tried to suppress it.
Lamennais devoted most of the following year to translating Louis de Blois
's Speculum Monachorum into French, which he published in 1809 under the title .
In 1811 Lamennais received the tonsure
and became professor of mathematics in an ecclesiastical college founded by his brother at Saint-Malo.
In 1814 he published, with his brother, (1814), in which he strongly condemned Gallicanism
and the interference of political authority in ecclesiastical affairs. It was provoked by Napoleon's nomination of Jean Siffrein Maury as Archbishop of Paris in accordance with the provisions of the Concordat of 1801
.
of 1814, which he witnessed in Paris, because he saw Louis XVIII as a force for religious regeneration. During the Hundred Days
, he escaped to London
. After the final overthrow of Napoleon in 1815, he returned to Paris. In 1816, despite misgivings as to his calling, he was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Rennes.
, "a humble priest with all the authority once enjoyed by Bossuet
". Lamennais denounced religious indifference by the state. He contended that private judgment, introduced by Martin Luther
into religion, by Descartes
and Leibniz
into philosophy and science, and by Rousseau and the Encyclopaedists into politics, had resulted in practical atheism
and spiritual death. He asserted that ecclesiastical authority, founded on the absolute revelation delivered to the Jewish people, but supported by the universal tradition of all nations, was the sole hope of regenerating the European communities.
Three more volumes (Paris, 1818–1824) followed and met with a mixed reception from the Gallican bishops and monarchists, but with the enthusiastic support from the younger clergy. Three Roman theologians examined his work and Pope Leo XII
gave it his formal approval. Lamennais visited Rome at the pope's request. He was offered and refused a position at the Sacred College.
Lamennais also published works of piety, for example, a widely-read French version of The Imitation of Christ with notes and reflections (1824), , , and (1828). The failure of a publishing house aimed at spreading this pious literature resulted in his own financial ruin.
and the Comte de Villèle
he was a regular contributor to Le Conservateur littéraire. However, when Villèle became the chief supporter of absolute monarchy, Lamennais withdrew his support and started two rival organs, and . He authored a pamphlet criticizing the 1825 Anti-Sacrilege Law introduced by Villèle's administration. Various other minor works, together with (1825–1826) kept his name before the public.
, Lacordaire
and Maurice de Guérin
. He espoused ultramontanism
and aimed to create an organized body of opinion to campaign against Gallicanism
, the control and influence of the state in church matters. (1828) marked his complete renunciation of royalist principles and from that time on he advocated on behalf of a theocratic democracy.
Lamennais founded L'Avenir, the first issue of which appeared on October 16, 1830, with the motto "God and Liberty." The paper was aggressively democratic, demanding rights of local administration, an enlarged suffrage, separation of church and state
, universal freedom of conscience
, instruction, assembly
, and the press
. Styles of worship were to be criticized, improved or abolished in absolute submission to the spiritual, not to the temporal authority. With the help of Montalembert, he founded the , which became a far-reaching organization with agents throughout France who monitored violations of religious freedom. As a result, the periodical's career was stormy and its circulation opposed by conservative bishops.
In response, Lamennais, Montalembert and Lacordaire suspended their work and in November 1831 set out to Rome to obtain the approval of Pope Gregory XVI
. After much opposition, they gained an audience, but only on condition that their political project should not be mentioned. A few days later they received a letter from Cardinal Pacca, advising their departure from Rome and suggesting that the Holy See, while admitting the justice of their intentions, would like the matter left open for the present.
Lacordaire and Montalembert departed immediately, but Lamennais stayed on until Gregory's letter to the Polish bishops, which denounced the Polish revolution against the Tsar
, dashed his last hopes. While staying in Munich, Lamennais received the 1832 encyclical Mirari vos
, which condemned religious pluralism in general and certain of Lamennais's ideas advanced in L'Avenir without metionomg his name. After this, Lamennais and his two lieutenants declared that out of deference to the pope they would not resume the publication of and dissolved the Agence générale as well.
In May 1834, he penned (1834), a collection of aphorisms that denounced the established social order and declared his rupture with the Church. In the Encyclical Singulari nos
, Gregory XVI condemned the book as "small in size, but immense in perversity" and censured Lamennais' philosophical system.
Lamennais was increasingly abandoned by his friends and in 1837 published , in which he provideded his perspective on his relations with Gregory XVI.
After this, he penned several articles in the Revue des Deux Mondes
, the Revue du Progrès and and published the pamphlets (1837), (1839), (1839), Discussions critiques (1841), (1841), (1843), in which he espoused popular sovereignty and attacked contemporary society and the public authorities. After the publication of (1840) he was imprisoned for a year
in 1841.
From 1841 to 1846, he published the four-volumes of , a treatise on metaphysics, which detailed his departure from Christianity. The third volume, an exposition of art as a development of the aspirations and needs of worship, formed its core. Lamennais also published , a French translation of the Gospels with added notes and reflections.
In 1846, he published , written during his imprisonment.
and was elected a deputy
for Paris to the Constituent Assembly. He drew up a plan for a Constitution, which was rejected as too radical. After this, he confined himself to silent participation in the sessions. He also started the newspapers and , espousing radical revolution. Both papers quickly ceased publication. He was also named president of the . He remained a deputy in the legislative assemblies until Napoleon III's 1851 coup
, which depressed and isolated him once more.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, and philosophical and political writer.
Youth
Félicité de Lamennais was born at Saint-MaloSaint-Malo
Saint-Malo is a walled port city in Brittany in northwestern France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine.-Demographics:The population can increase to up to 200,000 in the summer tourist season...
on June 19, 1782, the son of a wealthy merchant. Lamennais lost his mother at the age of five and as a result, he and his brother Jean-Marie
Jean-Marie de Lamennais
Jean-Marie Robert de Lamennais was a French Roman-Catholic priest, brother of the philosopher Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais, whom he influenced in their youth....
were sent for education to an uncle, Robert des Saudrais at La Chênaie, an estate near Saint-Malo. He spent long hours in his uncle's library, reading Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
and Pascal
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...
, among others, and acquired a vast and varied learning.
First publications
Of a sickly and sensitive nature, and shocked by the events of the French RevolutionFrench Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, he developed a morbid frame of mind. He first held rationalistic views, but partly through the influence of his brother Jean-Marie and partly as a result of his philosophical and historical studies, he came to see the power of faith and religion. He voiced his convictions in , published anonymously in Paris in 1808. It recommended religious revival and active clerical organization and the awakening of an ultramontane spirit. Napoleon's police deemed the book dangerously ideological and tried to suppress it.
Lamennais devoted most of the following year to translating Louis de Blois
Louis de Blois
Abbot Louis de Blois, O.S.B., was a Flemish monk and mystical writer, generally known under the name of Blosius.-Life:...
's Speculum Monachorum into French, which he published in 1809 under the title .
In 1811 Lamennais received the tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
and became professor of mathematics in an ecclesiastical college founded by his brother at Saint-Malo.
In 1814 he published, with his brother, (1814), in which he strongly condemned Gallicanism
Gallicanism
Gallicanism is the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by the monarchs' authority or the State's authority—over the Catholic Church is comparable to that of the Pope's...
and the interference of political authority in ecclesiastical affairs. It was provoked by Napoleon's nomination of Jean Siffrein Maury as Archbishop of Paris in accordance with the provisions of the Concordat of 1801
Concordat of 1801
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801. It solidified the Roman Catholic Church as the majority church of France and brought back most of its civil status....
.
Exile and return
Lamennais hailed the Bourbon restorationBourbon Restoration
The Bourbon Restoration is the name given to the period following the successive events of the French Revolution , the end of the First Republic , and then the forcible end of the First French Empire under Napoleon – when a coalition of European powers restored by arms the monarchy to the...
of 1814, which he witnessed in Paris, because he saw Louis XVIII as a force for religious regeneration. During the Hundred Days
Hundred Days
The Hundred Days, sometimes known as the Hundred Days of Napoleon or Napoleon's Hundred Days for specificity, marked the period between Emperor Napoleon I of France's return from exile on Elba to Paris on 20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII on 8 July 1815...
, he escaped to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. After the final overthrow of Napoleon in 1815, he returned to Paris. In 1816, despite misgivings as to his calling, he was ordained a priest by the Bishop of Rennes.
Essai sur l'indifférence en matière de religion
The first volume of his great work, appeared in 1817 and established his reputation throughout Europe. He became, according to LacordaireJean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire
Jean-Baptiste Henri-Dominique Lacordaire , often styled Henri-Dominique Lacordaire, was a French ecclesiastic, preacher, journalist and political activist...
, "a humble priest with all the authority once enjoyed by Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses. He has been considered by many to be one of the most brilliant orators of all time and a masterly French stylist....
". Lamennais denounced religious indifference by the state. He contended that private judgment, introduced by Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
into religion, by Descartes
René Descartes
René Descartes ; was a French philosopher and writer who spent most of his adult life in the Dutch Republic. He has been dubbed the 'Father of Modern Philosophy', and much subsequent Western philosophy is a response to his writings, which are studied closely to this day...
and Leibniz
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was a German philosopher and mathematician. He wrote in different languages, primarily in Latin , French and German ....
into philosophy and science, and by Rousseau and the Encyclopaedists into politics, had resulted in practical atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
and spiritual death. He asserted that ecclesiastical authority, founded on the absolute revelation delivered to the Jewish people, but supported by the universal tradition of all nations, was the sole hope of regenerating the European communities.
Three more volumes (Paris, 1818–1824) followed and met with a mixed reception from the Gallican bishops and monarchists, but with the enthusiastic support from the younger clergy. Three Roman theologians examined his work and Pope Leo XII
Pope Leo XII
Pope Leo XII , born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiore Girolamo Nicola Sermattei della Genga, was Pope from 1823 to 1829.-Life:...
gave it his formal approval. Lamennais visited Rome at the pope's request. He was offered and refused a position at the Sacred College.
Lamennais also published works of piety, for example, a widely-read French version of The Imitation of Christ with notes and reflections (1824), , , and (1828). The failure of a publishing house aimed at spreading this pious literature resulted in his own financial ruin.
Political advocacy
On his return to France he took a prominent part in political work. Together with ChateaubriandFrançois-René de Chateaubriand
François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian. He is considered the founder of Romanticism in French literature.-Early life and exile:...
and the Comte de Villèle
Jean-Baptiste Guillaume Joseph, comte de Villèle
Jean-Baptiste Guillaume Joseph Marie Anne Séraphin, comte de Villèle , was a French statesman. Several time Prime minister, he was a leader of the Ultra-royalist faction during the Bourbon Restoration.- Youth :...
he was a regular contributor to Le Conservateur littéraire. However, when Villèle became the chief supporter of absolute monarchy, Lamennais withdrew his support and started two rival organs, and . He authored a pamphlet criticizing the 1825 Anti-Sacrilege Law introduced by Villèle's administration. Various other minor works, together with (1825–1826) kept his name before the public.
Ultramontane and democratic advocacy
He retired to La Chênaie and gathered a group disciples, including MontalembertCharles Forbes René de Montalembert
Charles Forbes René de Montalembert was a French publicist and historian.-Family history:He belonged to a family of Angoumois, which could trace its descent back to the 13th century. Charters carry the history of the house two centuries further...
, Lacordaire
Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire
Jean-Baptiste Henri-Dominique Lacordaire , often styled Henri-Dominique Lacordaire, was a French ecclesiastic, preacher, journalist and political activist...
and Maurice de Guérin
Maurice de Guérin
Georges Maurice de Guérin du Cayla was a French poet.Descended from a noble and rich family, he was born at the chateau of Le Cayla in Andillac, Tarn. He was educated for the church at a religious seminary at Toulouse, and then at the Collège Stanislas, Paris, after which he entered the society at...
. He espoused ultramontanism
Ultramontanism
Ultramontanism is a religious philosophy within the Roman Catholic community that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope...
and aimed to create an organized body of opinion to campaign against Gallicanism
Gallicanism
Gallicanism is the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by the monarchs' authority or the State's authority—over the Catholic Church is comparable to that of the Pope's...
, the control and influence of the state in church matters. (1828) marked his complete renunciation of royalist principles and from that time on he advocated on behalf of a theocratic democracy.
Lamennais founded L'Avenir, the first issue of which appeared on October 16, 1830, with the motto "God and Liberty." The paper was aggressively democratic, demanding rights of local administration, an enlarged suffrage, separation of church and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
, universal freedom of conscience
Freedom of thought
Freedom of thought is the freedom of an individual to hold or consider a fact, viewpoint, or thought, independent of others' viewpoints....
, instruction, assembly
Freedom of assembly
Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests...
, and the press
Freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
. Styles of worship were to be criticized, improved or abolished in absolute submission to the spiritual, not to the temporal authority. With the help of Montalembert, he founded the , which became a far-reaching organization with agents throughout France who monitored violations of religious freedom. As a result, the periodical's career was stormy and its circulation opposed by conservative bishops.
In response, Lamennais, Montalembert and Lacordaire suspended their work and in November 1831 set out to Rome to obtain the approval of Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
. After much opposition, they gained an audience, but only on condition that their political project should not be mentioned. A few days later they received a letter from Cardinal Pacca, advising their departure from Rome and suggesting that the Holy See, while admitting the justice of their intentions, would like the matter left open for the present.
Lacordaire and Montalembert departed immediately, but Lamennais stayed on until Gregory's letter to the Polish bishops, which denounced the Polish revolution against the Tsar
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
, dashed his last hopes. While staying in Munich, Lamennais received the 1832 encyclical Mirari vos
Mirari Vos
Mirari Vos - On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism is the first encyclical of Pope Gregory XVI and was issued in 1832. Addressed "To All Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops of the Catholic World", it is general in scope....
, which condemned religious pluralism in general and certain of Lamennais's ideas advanced in L'Avenir without metionomg his name. After this, Lamennais and his two lieutenants declared that out of deference to the pope they would not resume the publication of and dissolved the Agence générale as well.
Separation from the Church and further publications
Lamennais retired to La Chénaie. He communicated his resentment and political beliefs only through correspondence. The Vatican in turn demanded his frank and full adhesion to the encyclical Mirari vos. Lamennais refused to submit without qualification and in December 1833 renounced his ecclesiastical functions and abandoned all external profession of Christianity.In May 1834, he penned (1834), a collection of aphorisms that denounced the established social order and declared his rupture with the Church. In the Encyclical Singulari nos
Singulari Nos
Singulari Nos was an encyclical issued on June 25, 1834 by Pope Gregory XVIEssentially a follow-up to the better-known Mirari Vos of 1832, Singulari Nos focused strongly on the doctrinal errors of French priest Hughes Felicité Robert de Lamennais, who did not see any contradiction between...
, Gregory XVI condemned the book as "small in size, but immense in perversity" and censured Lamennais' philosophical system.
Lamennais was increasingly abandoned by his friends and in 1837 published , in which he provideded his perspective on his relations with Gregory XVI.
After this, he penned several articles in the Revue des Deux Mondes
Revue des deux mondes
The Revue des deux Mondes is a French language monthly literary and cultural affairs magazine that has been published in Paris since 1829....
, the Revue du Progrès and and published the pamphlets (1837), (1839), (1839), Discussions critiques (1841), (1841), (1843), in which he espoused popular sovereignty and attacked contemporary society and the public authorities. After the publication of (1840) he was imprisoned for a year
Censorship in France
France has a long history of governmental censorship, particularly in the 16th to 18th centuries, but today freedom of press is guaranteed by the French Constitution and instances of governmental censorship are relatively limited and isolated....
in 1841.
From 1841 to 1846, he published the four-volumes of , a treatise on metaphysics, which detailed his departure from Christianity. The third volume, an exposition of art as a development of the aspirations and needs of worship, formed its core. Lamennais also published , a French translation of the Gospels with added notes and reflections.
In 1846, he published , written during his imprisonment.
Involvement in the Second Republic
Lamennais sympathized with the Revolution of 1848French Revolution of 1848
The 1848 Revolution in France was one of a wave of revolutions in 1848 in Europe. In France, the February revolution ended the Orleans monarchy and led to the creation of the French Second Republic. The February Revolution was really the belated second phase of the Revolution of 1830...
and was elected a deputy
French Constituent Assembly election, 1848
The 1848 general election held on 23 and 24 April 1848 elected the Constituent Assembly of the new Republic. Over 9 million voters were eligible to vote in the first French election since 1792 held under male universal suffrage.-Results:- Sources :...
for Paris to the Constituent Assembly. He drew up a plan for a Constitution, which was rejected as too radical. After this, he confined himself to silent participation in the sessions. He also started the newspapers and , espousing radical revolution. Both papers quickly ceased publication. He was also named president of the . He remained a deputy in the legislative assemblies until Napoleon III's 1851 coup
French coup of 1851
The French coup d'état on 2 December 1851, staged by Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte , ended in the successful dissolution of the French National Assembly, as well as the subsequent re-establishment of the French Empire the next year...
, which depressed and isolated him once more.
Last years
After 1851, he occupied himself with La Divine Comédie, a translation of Dante's Divine Comedy and refused several attempts to reconcile him to the Church. He died in Paris in 1854 and was buried according to his own directions at Père Lachaise without funeral rites, mourned by political and literary admirers.Works
There are two Œuvres complètes de Lamennais in ten volumes, the first published in 1836-1837, the second published in 1844. Both are incomplete.Sources
- Carolina Armenteros, The French Idea of History: Joseph de Maistre and his Heirs, 1794-1854 (Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2011).
- Thomas Bokenkotter, Church and Revolution: Catholics and the Struggle for Democracy and Social Justice (NY: Doubleday, 1998)