Jean-Baptiste de Mirabaud

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Cover of Discours prononcez dans l'Académie françoise le jeudy 30 juin MDCCXXIX, à la réception de M. l'abbé Sallier - scan of the French national library

Jean-Baptiste de Mirabaud (* 1675 in Paris ; † June 24, 1760 ibid) was a French author , translator and materialist philosopher of the early French Enlightenment . He became known for his two translations, the first of which enabled him to become a member of the Académie française . Only after his death did it emerge that he was an author of philosophical literature, which mainly contained social and church criticism and which he had to publish anonymously for this reason.

Life

Only what is known about the life of de Mirabaud is what the few sources from the 18th century have given us. He then fought as an officer in several battles, including the Battle of Steenkerke . He was temporarily a member of the Oratory , a Roman Catholic religious order . He then became educator of the two youngest daughters of Philippe II. De Bourbon, duc d'Orléans and Françoise Marie de Bourbon .

His friendship with Jean de La Fontaine sparked his interest in literature .

His translation of La Gerusalemme Liberata (Liberated Jerusalem) by Torquato Tasso , published in Paris in 1724, met with a great positive response . The translation is preceded by a foreword and a biography of Tasso. In the preface, de Mirabaud points out that there are already some French translations of the work, for example by Blaise de Vigenère and Jean Baudoin . These are linguistically outdated, which is why he sees the need for a new translation.

In 1741 a translation of the work Orlando furioso ( Der raging Roland ) by Ludovico Ariosto (published in The Hague ) followed.

De Mirabaud became on September 28, 1726 as the successor to Henri Jacques Nompar de Caumont , duc de La Force, member of the Académie française. In 1742 he became their secrétaire perpétuel (other sources refer to the office as secrétaire général ). His predecessor in this office was the clergyman Claude-François-Alexandre Houtteville , his successor was Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon . The translations published shortly before played a decisive role in both of de Mirabaud's appointments. Since de Mirabaud was accepted into the Académie when he had only one publication to show with his first translation, Ley attributes it to the protection of influential circles ( Paul Vernière calls it the free-spirited bastion of the Académie ). The house of Orleans is assumed to be behind this.

De Mirabaud was the first secrétaire perpétuel to get him a residence in the Louvre and the office to be linked to the payment of a pension. He stayed in the official apartment until his death, although he had already given up the position.

De Mirabaud's ideas had a major impact on other Enlightenment authors .

Philosophical work

Cover of De l'âme et de son immortalité - scan from the French National Library
Cover of Opinions des Anciens sur les Juifs - Scan from the French National Library

Historical background

After the death of Louis XIV on September 1, 1715, Philippe II became regent of France. Although he was an atheist , there were still strong ecclesiastical structures in government agencies such as the police and the judiciary. Representing and disseminating atheist theses made it not only scientifically vulnerable: there was also the threat of imprisonment or the death penalty . In addition, through these theses the  worldly order -  based on God - was called into question or even openly criticized. Against this background, many atheistic, church or government-critical writings were published anonymously or pseudonymously in the 18th century . In some cases, works that belonged together were separated, merged or published under other titles. Therefore, details of the "author's questions" have not yet been fully clarified. Manuscripts were not always used for publication either, but were only presented orally in narrow circles.

Positions

De Mirabaud took materialistic (in the sense of a world view that traces everything observable in the world back to matter and the laws of nature that affect it) and atheistic positions.

One of his main theses is that the world is older than the Bible claims. It also arises “just from something, not from nothing”. What was meant was that the world did not come into being in an act of creation, but from the transformation of already (eternally) existing matter. He wrote that "nothing is more ridiculous than to assume that God created the world for his glory". He rejected the idea of ​​an immortal human soul . According to Fritz Neubert, his position on this question is therefore most comparable to Epicureanism , as Lucretius taught him. He saw the soul as something resident in the brain, as a mere nerve effect. Mirabaud tried to prove contradictions in Plato that should refute his assumption of an immaterial soul . This approach has found an echo at Voltaire , argues Ira Owen.

Mirabaud also used the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ as evidence in this context: The belief in the resurrection of the body is a consequence of the assumption that the body is necessary for the existence of the soul. He tried to prove that even peoples who did not assume the immortality of the soul therefore acted no less morally .

He rejected geocentrism and followed Epicurus in imagining a multitude of worlds.

De Mirabaud also doubted that a global flood had occurred and assumed that it was a local event. He also denied the descent of all peoples from Adam and Noah as well as the existence of a hereafter with reward and punishment for the deeds committed during life.

After de Mirabaud's death, Paul Henri Thiry d'Holbach published his own literature under the pseudonym "Jean Baptiste de Mirabaud". In a letter to John Wilkes he named de Mirabaud as the author of his own work "Système de la nature", as well as in a letter to Ferdinando Galiani . The pseudonymous publication served to protect d'Holbach, for whom it would have been "false audacity" to "suicidally submit to the judicial apparatus of the ruling class". The authorship of d'Holbach was initially not recognized; Even in 2000, Hans-Joachim Becker assumed that de Mirabaud had written a work, Le Système de la Nature de d'Holbach .

Methods

De Mirabaud also published partly anonymously for his protection. As a result, his authorship of some works is controversial. In many cases she was not known to his contemporaries. The public therefore valued de Mirabaud as "a righteous and philosophically 'peaceful' contemporary". When the work Systems de la nature appeared under de Mirabaud's name, Voltaire could not believe it because he did not trust him to do such a work. This camouflage also provoked outrage on the hostile side: Sabatier mentions under the keyword “Mirabeau” ( sic ) that although he was not a particularly gifted writer, he had an impeccable character. "

De Mirabaud also countered the danger of persecution as an enlightener by superficially presenting and criticizing the theses of older, partly ancient writings (including those by Theognis von Megara , Cicero and Herodotus ). He used a technique of "subtle discussion with ambiguous withdrawal". This enabled him to criticize the creationist approach of the biblical story of creation and to present counter-arguments, but gave the impression that he was criticizing the counter-arguments. Some of his anonymous manuscripts were (re-) published by third parties without his knowledge, for example by Jean-Baptiste Le Mascrier , who tried to refute de Mirabaud's theses through comments.

Meaning and reception

For Fritz Neubert , de Mirabaud was “ far superior to Voltaire in the most logically serious argumentation and the enormous knowledge of the ancient and early Christian authors”. He was more radical, but less original than Voltaire, since he was recognizable based on his publications as well as Julien Offray de La Mettrie , Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle , Pierre Bayle , Michel de Montaigne and above all Benoit de Maillet . De Mirabaud's merit lies in his extensive knowledge of the ancient philosophers and their writings, from which he draws arguments for his atheist-materialist attitude. Because they rejected the idea of ​​creation out of nothing as well as that of a spirituality of the soul. Rather, they represented the idea of ​​the eternity of matter and the corporeality of the soul - both in humans and animals . De Mirabaud also shaped the following philosophers, such as Johann Heinrich Schulz , who, however, attested him to be an “imperfect atheism”.

According to Neubert, he was "with conviction in the radical camp, from which Voltaire fearfully stayed away". Schröder also describes him as a radical free spirit .

His book Opinions des anciens sur les juifs from 1769 is in part considered anti-Semitic because it contains quotations from ancient (Greek and Latin) works that portray Jews as a danger to Europe. In this sense, too, writes Hans-Joachim Becker, Schulz was shaped by de Mirabaud, but also by Voltaire . De Mirabaud claimed that Jews were always hated and attributed this to their insulting foreign gods and their attempts to exterminate other peoples ("tryed to exterminate other races"). Neubert, on the other hand, sees these superficial attacks against Judaism as actually directed against Christianity. De Mirabaud emphasizes that Christianity has largely adopted its teachings from Judaism. The "trick" therefore serves to cover up his attacks on Christianity in order to avoid reprisals. Wade also emphasizes criticism of Christianity: de Mirabaud accuses Christ of inconsistent teaching and action. The method of attacking Judaism in order to strip Christianity off its base was widespread in enlightenment literature of the 18th century. Nicolas Fréret had stated in his work Lettre de Thrasybule à Leucippe : "Destroy the Jewish sect and Christianity will collapse like a house of cards".

Fonts

Translations

  • Jérusalem délivrée, poème héroïque du Runde, nouvellement traduit en françois , translation of the epic La Gerusalemme Liberata by Torquato Tasso, Paris, 1724 ( books.google.de )
  • Roland furieux, poème héroïque de l'Arioste, traduction nouvelle , translation of the epic Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, The Hague, 1741

Philosophical works

  • Discours prononcez dans l'Académie françoise le jeudy 30 juin MDCCXXIX, à la réception de M. l'abbé Sallier , 1729 (de Mirabaud's answer to Abbé Sallier ) ( full text )
  • Sentiments des philosophes sur la nature de l'âme (1743). In: Bernard Le Bouyer de Fontenelle: Nouvelles libertés de penser , full text (PDF). Also published by Naigeon, in: Recueil philosophique , 1753.
  • De l'âme et de son immortalité , London, 1751 , full text part 2 (PDF), in: César Chesneau Du Marsais (ed.): Le monde , London, 1751, part 2. The first part with the title Le monde, son origine, et son antiquité , London, 1751, full text part 1 (PDF) comes from Jean Frédéric Bernard .
  • Opinions des anciens sur les juifs , 1769, full text (PDF)
  • Abrégé du code de la nature , London, 1770

literature

  • Allen David Hole: Mirabaud's Contribution to the Deistic Movement and His Relation to Voltaire , Dissertation Princeton University, 1952 (unprinted).
  • Roger Marchal: Regards clandestins sur l'Antiquité . Le Manuscrit de l'Opinion des Anciens sur la nature de l'âme, in: Francine Wild (ed.): Regards sur le passé dans l'Europe des XVIe et XVIIe siècles. Actes du colloque organisé par l'Université de Nancy (14 au 16 December 1995), Peter Lang, Berlin 1997, ISBN 978-3-906754-77-2 , pp. 407-13.
  • Jacques-André Naigeon : Encyclopédie méthodique . Philosophy ancienne et modern, 3 vol., Panckoucke, Paris 1791–94, vol. 3, pp. 292–326.666-725.
  • Bertram Eugene Schwarzbach: Remarques on the date, la bibliographie et la réception des Opinions des anciens sur les Juifs. In: Lettre Clandestine 6 (1997), pp. 51-63.
  • Tyrtée Tastet: Histoire des quarante fauteuils de l'Académie française depuis la fondation jusqu'à nos jours, 1635–1855. Tome 1 , Paris, 1855, p. 291ff ( gallica.bnf.fr )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Fritz Neubert: French literary problems, collected essays . 1962, “Textkritik” in the 18th century, p. 139 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed September 16, 2016]).
  2. ↑ a b c John Aikin, Thomas Morgan, William Johnston: General Biography: Or, Lives, Critical and Historical, of the Most Eminent Persons of All Ages, Countries, Conditions and Professions . 1808, p. 114–115 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed September 16, 2016]).
  3. ↑ a b Hoefer: Nouvelle biographie générale, 1852, quoted from: Archives Biographiques Françaises (ABF), part I, file number 0743, page number 419 (p. 7) - accessed via WBIS .
  4. ↑ Jean BAUDOIN ( Memento of September 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Alberto Martino: Readers and Readers in Northern Germany in the 18th Century . 1993, p. 130 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed September 16, 2016]).
  6. ^ Henry Coston: Dictionnaire des dynasties bourgeoises et du monde des affaires . 1975, p. 390.
  7. ↑ Biography universelle ancienne et moderne . Volume 29, 1821, p. 87.
  8. ^ Claude François Achard: Dictionnaire de la Provence et du comté Venaissin , Volume I, Marseille, 17XX, p. 530.
  9. ^ Hermann Ley: History of the Enlightenment and Atheism , Volume 4, Part 2, VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin (East), 1984, ISBN 3-326-00307-2 , p. 205.
  10. ^ A b Georg Gross: Textual criticism in the French enlightenment literature - Mirabaud - Dumarsais - Le Mascrier . In: Scientific journal of the Wilhelm-Pieck-Universitaet Rostock (=  social and linguistic series . 6th year). No. 2 (1956/57) , pp. 237 .
  11. ^ A b Paul Henri Thiry d'Holbach: System of nature . Aufbau-Verlag, Berlin (GDR) 1960, p. XVIII f .
  12. ↑ Cf. nur Allhusen (ed.): Analysis of Mirabaud's natural system and materialism ; from the French, Kiel 1852, p. 28 ff.
  13. ↑ Werner Krauss: The literature of the French early enlightenment . Athenaeum-Verlag, Frankfurt (Main) 1971, p. 169.
  14. ↑ Ira Owen Wade: The clandestine organization and diffusion of philosophic ideas in France from 1700 to 1750 , Princeton University Press, Princeton USA. / Oxford University Press, London 1938, (Reprint from 1967) pp. 205, 206f.
  15. ↑ Ira Owen Wade: The clandestine organization and diffusion of philosophic ideas in France from 1700 to 1750 , Princeton University Press, Princeton USA / Oxford University Press, London 1938, (reprint from 1967) pp. 205, 209.
  16. ^ Hermann Ley: History of the Enlightenment and Atheism , Volume 4, Part 2, VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin (GDR) 1984, ISBN 3-326-00307-2 , p. 204 ff.
  17. ^ Hermann Ley: History of Enlightenment and Atheism , Volume 4, Part 2, VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin (GDR) 1984, ISBN 3-326-00307-2 , p. 206.
  18. ↑ Le monde, son origine, et son antiquité, London, 1751, p. 60ff, quoted from Hermann Ley: History of Enlightenment and Atheism , Volume 4, Part 2, VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin (GDR) 1984, ISBN 3-326-00307-2 , p. 219.
  19. ^ Hermann Ley: History of Enlightenment and Atheism , Volume 4, Part 2, VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin (GDR) 1984, ISBN 3-326-00307-2 , p. 217ff.
  20. ^ A b Georg Gross: Textual criticism in the French enlightenment literature - Mirabaud - Dumarsais - Le Mascrier . In: Scientific journal of the Wilhelm-Pieck-Universitaet Rostock (=  social and linguistic series . 6th year). No. 2 (1956/57) , pp. 243 .
  21. ^ A b Fritz Neubert: French literary problems, collected essays . 1962, “Textkritik” in the 18th century, p. 145 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed September 16, 2016]).
  22. ^ Fritz Neubert: French literature problems, collected essays . 1962, p. 144 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed September 16, 2016]).
  23. ^ Fritz Neubert: "Text criticism" in the 18th century. JB Mirabaud, Le Monde (1751) . In: Germanisch-Romance monthly , 15 (1926-27), pp. 213, 220.
  24. ↑ Ira Owen Wade: The clandestine organization and diffusion of philosophic ideas in France from 1700 to 1750 , Princeton University Press, Princeton USA / Oxford University Press, London 1938 (reprint from 1967), pp. 205, 215.
  25. ↑ a b c Pierre Retat: Érudition et philosophie. Mirabaud et l'Antiquité . In: Olivier Bloch (ed.): Matérialisme du Dix-huitième siècle et la littérature clandestine . 1982, p. 92 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed September 16, 2016]).
  26. ^ A b c Fritz Neubert: French literature problems, collected essays . 1962, “Textkritik” in the 18th century, p. 146–147 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed September 16, 2016]).
  27. ^ Fritz Neubert: "Text criticism" in the 18th century. JB Mirabaud, Le Monde (1751), in: Germanisch-Romanische monthly 15 (1926-27), pp. 213,218.
  28. ↑ Jean-Claude Bourdin: Hegel et les matérialistes français du XVIIIe siècle, 1992, ISBN 2-86563-286-5 , pp. 24, 124 (incl. Fn. 1), 127.
  29. ↑ GND 118706403
  30. ↑ Paul Thiry Baron d'Holbach, in: Hermann Sauter (Ed.): The entire received correspondence, Stuttgart, Steiner-Verlag-Wiesbaden-GmbH, 1986, No. 41 (p. 60) and No. 45 (p. 67 ).
  31. ↑ Manfred Naumann, in: Paul Henri Thiry d'Holbach: System der Natur, Aufbau-Verlag Berlin (GDR) 1960, p. XVIII f.
  32. ↑ Hans-Joachim Becker: Fichte's idea of ​​the nation and Judaism: the forgotten generations of the Jewish Fichte reception , 2000, fn. 29 (p. 48) books.google.de
  33. ^ Werner Krauss: The literature of the French early enlightenment , Frankfurt (Main): Athenaeum-Verl., 1971, p. 209.
  34. ^ Fritz Neubert: "Text criticism" in the 18th century. JB Mirabaud, Le Monde (1751), in: Germanisch-Romanische monthly 15 (1926-27), pp. 213, 215.
  35. ^ Sabatier, in: les trois siècles de la littérature française, Amsterdam, 1774, part II, p. 442ff., Quoted from Arthur Baumgarten : Basic positions of the French Enlightenment , Berlin, Rütten & Loening , 1955, p. 287 (fn. 76a).
  36. ↑ Le monde, son origine, et son antiquité . London 1751, gallica.bnf.fr (PDF), pp. 2, 6 and 8.
  37. ^ Hermann Ley: History of the Enlightenment and Atheism , Volume 4, Part 2, VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin (GDR) 1984, ISBN 3-326-00307-2 , p. 213.
  38. ↑ Ira Owen Wade: The clandestine organization and diffusion of philosophic ideas in France from 1700 to 1750 , Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA / Oxford University Press, London 1938, (reprint from 1967) pp. 205, 210.
  39. ^ Hermann Ley: History of Enlightenment and Atheism , Volume 4, Part 2, VEB Deutscher Verlag der Wissenschaften, Berlin (GDR) 1984, ISBN 3-326-00307-2 , p. 207.
  40. ^ Pierre Retat, in: Olivier Bloch: Matérialisme du Dix-huitième siècle et la littérature clandestine , Paris 1982, p. 91
  41. ↑ Georg Gross: Text Criticism in French Enlightenment Literature - Mirabaud - Dumarsais - Le Mascrier, in: Scientific Journal of the Wilhelm-Pieck-Universitaet Rostock, Society and Linguistic Series, 6th year 1956/57, Issue 2, pp. 237, 249 .
  42. ↑ Hans-Joachim Becker: Fichte's idea of ​​the nation and Judaism: the forgotten generations of the Jewish Fichte reception , 2000, p. 48 books.google.de
  43. ^ Winfried Schröder: French Enlightenment: bourgeois emancipation, literature and consciousness education , Leipzig: Reclam, 1974, p. 37.
  44. ↑ science.jrank.org
  45. ↑ Hans-Joachim Becker: Fichte's idea of ​​the nation and Judaism: the forgotten generations of the Jewish Fichte reception , 2000, fn. 31 (p. 53) books.google.de
  46. ↑ Ira Owen Wade: The clandestine organization and diffusion of philosophic ideas in France from 1700 to 1750 , Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA / Oxford University Press, London 1938, (reprint from 1967) pp. 205, 218.
  47. ^ Fritz Neubert: "Text criticism" in the 18th century. JB Mirabaud, Le Monde (1751), in: Germanisch-Romanische monthly 15 (1926-27), pp. 213, 217.
  48. ↑ Ira Owen Wade: The clandestine organization and diffusion of philosophic ideas in France from 1700 to 1750 , Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA / Oxford University Press, London 1938, (reprint from 1967) pp. 205, 218f and 221.
  49. ↑ See e.g. B. the commented reprint from 1986 ( swb.bsz-bw.de ).
  50. ^ Léon Poliakov: The History of Anti-Semitism . tape 3 , 2003, ISBN 0-19-710027-9 , pp. 117 .
  51. ↑ Winfried Engler : Lexicon of French Literature (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 388). 3rd, improved and enlarged edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-520-38803-0 , quoted from: Archives Biographiques Françaises (ABF), part I, file number 0743, page number 30 (p. 15) - accessed via WBIS .
  52. ^ Library of Congress record
  53. ↑ Renée Simon: Henri Boulainvilliers - Œuvres philosophiques , 1973, p. 235 ( books.google.de )
personal data
SURNAME Mirabaud, Jean-Baptiste de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jean-Baptiste Mirabeau
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French philosopher, author and translator
DATE OF BIRTH 1675
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH June 24, 1760
Place of death Paris