Lamennais: A Believer’s Revolutionary Politics

326 Pages·2018·1.504 MB·English

by  Félicité Robert de Lamennais, Richard A. Lebrun, Sylvain Milbach

Lamennais:ABeliever’sRevolutionaryPolitics
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Studies in the History of
Political Thought
SeriesEditor
AnneliendeDijn(UniversityofAmsterdam)
AdvisoryBoard
JanetColeman(LondonSchoolofEconomicsandPoliticalScience,UK)
VittorIvoComparato(UniversityofPerugia,Italy)
JacquesGuilhaumou(cnrs,France)
JöhnMarshall(JohnsHopkinsUniversity,Baltimore,USA)
MarkkuPeltonen(UniversityofHelsinki,Finland)
volume 13
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/ship
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Lamennais:
A Believer’s Revolutionary
Politics
Editedby
RichardA.Lebrun
SylvainMilbach
Translationsby
RichardA.Lebrun
JerryRyan
IntroductionandAnnotationsby
SylvainMilbach
LEIDEN | BOSTON
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Names:Lamennais,FélicitéRobertde,1782–1854,author.|Lebrun,Richard,editor.
Title:Lamennais:abeliever'srevolutionarypolitics/editedbyRichardA.Lebrun;
translationsbyRichardA.Lebrun,JerryRyan;introductionandannotationsby
SylvainMilbach.
Description:Leiden;Boston:Brill,2018.|Series:Studiesinthehistoryofpolitical
thought,ISSN1873-6548;Volume13|Includesbibliographicalreferencesand
index.
Identifiers:LCCN2018015632(print)|LCCN2018021818(ebook)|
ISBN9789004367609(E-book)|ISBN9789004367241(hardback:alk.paper)
Subjects:LCSH:CatholicChurch–France–History–19thcentury.|CatholicChurch–
France–Doctrines–History–19thcentury.|Christianityandpolitics–Historyof
doctrines–19thcentury.
Classification:LCC BR846(ebook)|LCC BR846.L36132018(print)|DDC194–dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2018015632
TypefacefortheLatin,Greek,andCyrillicscripts:“Brill”.Seeanddownload:brill.com/brill‑typeface.
ISSN1873-6548
ISBN978-90-04-36724-1(hardback)
ISBN978-90-04-36760-9(e-book)
Copyright2018byKoninklijkeBrillNV,Leiden,TheNetherlands.
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Chronology:LifeandPublicationsofF.deLamennais ix
Introduction 1
SylvainMilbach
SelectedArticlesPublishedinL’Avenir 33
1 Lamennais’FirstArticleinL’Avenir
16October1830 35
2 OntheSeparationofChurchandState
18October1830 40
3 L’Avenir’sDoctrines
7December1830 46
4 OnthePositionoftheFrenchChurch
6January1831 52
5 DeclarationPresentedtotheHolySee(bytheEditorsof L’Avenir)
6February1831 60
6 OntheRepublic
9March1831 79
7 OntheInterestsandDutiesofCatholics
7April1831 85
8 OnFreedom
23May1831 89
9 OntheFutureofSociety
28and29June1831 91
10 WhatCatholicismWillbeintheNewSociety
30June1831 104
11 OnReligiousFreedom
30August1831 111
12 ActofUnion(bytheEditorsof L’Avenir)
15November1831 115
13 FarewellfromM.deLamennais
15November1831 122
WordsofaBeliever(1834) 125
PrefacetoLesTroisièmesMélanges(1835) 182
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vi contents
BookofthePeople(1837) 232
OnModernSlavery(1839) 279
Index 299
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Acknowledgements
Thisvolumeistheconsequenceof aratherlongchainof events.Intheearly
years following my retirement in 1998, I undertook producing an online edi-
tionofthetranslatedworksofJosephdeMaistre,whoselifeandwritingshad
beenthemajorsubjectof myresearchandpublicationduringmycareer.On
completionof thisprojectin2009(“TheWorksof JosephdeMaistre,”inthe
Intelex Past Masters series), when I was casting around for a new challenge,
aCanadiancolleague,DrPaulLaverdure,ArchivistandLibrarianattheUni-
versityofSudbury,suggestedtranslatingthewritingsofFélicitédeLamennais,
Maistre’syoungercontemporary.Hearguedthathisworks,veryinfluentialin
France(andothercountriesinEurope)andQuebecinthenineteenthcentury,
deserved to be better known in English. Fluently bilingual, Paul had studied
Lamennaisinthecourseofhisstudiesinhistory,andheofferedtocollaborate
withmebyreviewingmytranslations.Iwaswellintotheproject,when,follow-
ingaseriousmedicalcrisisin2015,Paulhadtowithdraw.Iremainverymuchin
hisdebtforhisinitialsuggestion,hison-goingencouragement,andhisadvice
onvariousaspectsoftheproject.
As the result of an appeal for assistance on an internet discussion list, I
was extremely fortunate to be able to enlist two highly qualified new volun-
teer collaborators. Sylvain Milbach, Maître de conférences at the Université
de Savoie, who is an expert on Lamennais, and who is currently preparing a
newbiographyof thiswriter,wrotetoinquireabouthowhemightassistmy
project.ThoroughlyfamiliarwithLamennais’writings,hepointedoutthatthis
author’s writings were often repetitive, and provided excellent advice about
whichworkswouldbeappropriatefora“majorworks”edition.Withrespect
tothepresentvolume,ProfessorMilbachhelpedselectthepiecesthatwehave
included,preparedtheIntroduction,checkedreferences,andprovidedanno-
tationsexplainingthecontextofmanyofLamennais’references.Sincemyown
primaryresearchrelatedtoMaistreandnotLamennais,hiscontributionshave
proveninvaluable.
Mysecondnewcollaborator,JerryRyan,isanexperiencedtranslator,who
agreed to check the accuracy of my translations. He has translated several
booksforBloomsburyandtheUniversityof NotreDamePress,andhaswrit-
tenextensivelyforCommonweal,TheNationalCatholicReporter,andAmerica,
aswellastheFrenchJesuitreviewChoisirandLaRevueGénérale(Brussels).He
hasverycarefullycheckedallmytranslations,bothfromLamennais’writings
andSylvainMilbach’scontributionstothisvolume.Iammostgratefultohim
forcatchingomissions,typos,errors,andofferinginnumerablesuggestionsfor
stylisticimprovements.
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viii acknowledgements
TheideaforthisspecificvolumeIowetomycolleagueandcollaboratorin
Maistrianstudies,DrCarolinaArmenteros.Shenotonlysuggestedpublishing
ashortintroductoryvolumeofLamennaistextsasapreludetoa“majorworks”
edition,shealsothoughtthatWordsofaBelieverandassociatedtextscouldbe
bundledasavolumethatwouldfitapublisher’sseriesonthehistoryofpolitical
thought,andsuggestedpublishersthatmightbeinterestedinsuchavolume.
Veryhappily,itturnedouttobeBrill,whichhadalreadypublishedavolume
thatthetwoofushadeditedintheirseries“StudiesintheHistoryofPolitical
Thought” (JosephdeMaistreandHisEuropeanReaders, 2011) that expressed
seriousinterestintheproposal.
IthankDr.JesseD.Billet,TrinityCollegeintheUniversityofToronto,forthe
translationsofsomeoftheLatinfootnotesinLamennais’articlesinL’Avenir.
I am also most grateful to Professor Ivo Romein and his editorial team at
Brill, who carefully considered the proposed volume, and offered very perti-
nentadviceforexpandingandstrengtheningitbyincludingadditionaltexts.
RichardA.Lebrun
Co-editor
Note:Inthebracketedfootnotesinthisvolume,theannotationsprovidedby
Sylvain Milbach are identified by his initials, SM, and mine are identified by
mine,RAL.
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Chronology: Life and Publications of
F. de Lamennais
1782 BirthofFélicitéRobertdeLaMennais,inSaint-Malo
1809 Lamennaisreceivesminororders
1809 Réflexionssurl’étatdeL’EgliseenFrancependantleXVIIIesiècleetsursa
situationactuelles(withhisbrotherJean-Marie)
1814 Traditiondel’Eglisesurl’institutiondesévêques(3vols.,withhisbrother,
Jean-Marie)
1816 Lamennaisordainedapriest
1817 Essaisurl’indifférenceenmatièredereligion,Vol.I
1818–1823 Lamennais collaborates with ultaroyalist journalists, Chateaubriand,
Bonaldetc.,(LeConservateur,LeDrapeaublanc)
1820 Essaissurl’indifférence,Vol.II
1821 Défencedel’Essaisurl’indifférence
1823 Essaissurl’indifférence,Vols.IIIandIV
1824–1830 LeMémorialcatholique(withtheAbbésGerbetanddeSalinis)
1824 TriptoRome,whereLamennaisisreceivedinaudiencebyPopeLeoXIII
1825–1826 Delareligionconsidéréedanssesrapportsavecl’ordrepolitiqueetsocial
1826 Triedforencouragingdisobedience,fined30francs;Delareligioncon-
fiscated
1828 FoundationoftheCongrégationdeSaint-Pierre
1829 DesprogrèsdelaRévolutionetdelaguerrecontrel’Eglise
1830–1831 L’Avenir(withGerbet).
1831 FoundingoftheAgencegénéralepourladéfensedelalibertéreligieuse
(December).
1831 Trial,withLacordaire,forhisarticlesopposinggovernmentpolicy;aqui-
tal(January)
1831–1832 The“pilgrimsoffreedom”(Lamennais,MontalembertandLacordaire)
inRomefrom21November1831to9July1832
1832 PublicationofthepapalencyclicalMirarivos(15August)
1832 Submissionof theeditorsof L’Avenir,suspensionof L’Avenirandthe
Agencegénéralepourladéfenselalibertéreligieuse
1833 UnconditionalsubmissionbyLamennaistoMirarivos(11December)
1834 Lamennais renounces his priestly functions (January, letter to Mon-
talembert)
1834 Parolesd’uncroyant(30April)
1834 PapalencyclicalSingularinos(25June)
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x chronology: life and publications of f. de lamennais
1834 DissolutionoftheCongrégationdeSaint-Pierre(September)
1835 TroisièmeMélanges.Lamennaisdefendsthe“Aprilaccused”
1836 AffairesdeRome
1836 LamennaissettlespermanentlyinParis;afterthishewillscarcelyleave
thecapitol
1836–1837 Oeuvrescomplètes,12volumes(Daubrée)
1837 LamennaisdirectsthenewspaperLeMonde(February–April)
1837 Lelivredupeuple
1838 Politique à l’usage du peuple (collection of articles published in Le
Monde)
1839 L’esclavagemoderne
1840 L’esquissed’unephilosophie,3vols.
1840 Lepaysetlegouvernement.Workconfiscatedaweekafteritsappearance
1841 LamennaisisimprisonedinSainte-Pélagie(January1841–January1842)
1841 Discussionscritiques.Delareligion.Dupasséetdel’avenirdupeuple
1843 AmschaspandsetDarvands
1843–1844 Oeuvrescomplètes,10vols.(Pagnerre)
1846 Unevoixdeprison
1846 L’esquissed’unephilosophie,Vol.IV.AtranslationoftheGospels
1848 Lamennaismanagesthenewspaper LePeupleconstituant (February–
July)
1848 LamennaiselectedadeputyfromLaSeine
1849 Lamennais re-elected a deputy. Collaborates with the radical Repub-
licannewspaper LeRéforme.Thepaper’smanagingeditoristriedfor
Lamennais’articles
1854 Deathof Lamennais(27February).BuriedinPère-Lachaisecemetery
(1March)
1844 Posthumous publication of Lamennais’ French translation of Dante’s
Divinecomédie,3vols.,(EmileForgues)
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