Auguste Nefftzer

Auguste Nefftzer , born with Colmar the February 3rd 1820, died with Basle the August 20th 1876 was a Journaliste French. He is especially known to have founded the newspaper Time in 1861 and to have directed it during 10 years.

He studied the Théologie with the Protestant Faculty of Strasbourg, when, at the twenty-two years age, he began in political journalism as writer from the Courrier from Haut-Rhin . Some time afterwards, it came to Paris and entered, in 1844, with the newspaper the Press , directed by E. of Girardin. It was pointed out there by its raised ideas, its firm and measured attitude. During several years, it signed the newspaper in the capacity as manager, which was worth continuations in 1851 to him and a judgment in one month of prison attracted to him, “on the occasion, known as Gustave Vapereau, of one of most curious trickeries than the political literature made. One awaited, with anxiety, the last message of the president of the Republic; the Press took the initiative and gave, at the head its columns, with all appearances of an official part, a succession of extracts of the Œuvres of the prince Louis-Napoleon . This message apocryphal book, by a very marked democratic color, moved all the opinions variously; the Bourse was disturbed and translated with its manner, by a sudden fall, alarms of the various hostile parties to the République. ”

During the first years of the dictatorial mode of the Empire, whereas the press was completely muzzled, Nefftzer wrote the bulletin of the day in the Press and published there time with other of the articles on questions of Philosophie and foreign politics. Of Girardin having yielded to him the Directorate of Political Affairs of its newspaper in 1856, it took an active share in the electoral campaign of 1857 and supported, with much talent, the candidates of the opposition. At this same time, one noticed that it fought some too absolute ideas of its former editor association.

November 15th, 1857, it gave up the Press , that from Girardin came to sell to the banker Moïse Millaud, and it founded the following year, with Charles Dollfus, an excellent collection, the Germanic Review (1858-1865), which was to bring closer France and Germany, and in which it published remarkable work on religious criticism, philosophy and the history. Again returned with the Press in 1859, it left this sheet in 1861 definitively to create a political newspaper, the Time , of which he was at the same time the political director and editor association. It could associate writers of a remarkable talent, in particular Louis Blanc, Edmond Scherer, Henri Brisson, Jules Ferry, Francisque Sarcey, Auguste Villemot, George Sand, Alexandre Erdan, etc, and it made with the Empire a constant opposition, but with great cares of form and a careful skill. If the moderation of its polemic prevented Time to become a popular newspaper, it conquered, at least, the votes of the Bourgeoisie well-read woman and liberal and quickly became one of the bodies best made and the most authorized French press.

Particularly in last times of the Empire, Nefftzer was constantly on the breach and it published remarkable articles, in particular in connection with the elections of 1869, against the plebiscite of 1870 and the insane ineptitude of the ministry Olivier, when it precipitated France in a disastrous war. In 1871, Nefftzer gave up the Directorate of Political Affairs of the Temps to Adrien Hébrard, without to cease collaborating in this newspaper.

Nefftzer was one of the journalists of this time who, by the standing of the character, the rise in the sights, the inalterable strength of the good sense, the clearness of the spirit, sincere liberalism, had known to take the most authority on the world of the well-read men, as well in France as abroad. At various times, democratic committees designated it as candidate with the elections for the legislative Body or the National Assembly. This modest writer always refused there. He even engaged, on this subject, a brilliant polemic with Adolphe Guéroult in 1863, and supported that a deputy having a platform to present his ideas to it was to prohibit the publicity of the press.

The articles of literary criticism that it published in various collections testify, failing this perhaps of smoothness in the outlines and promptness in the style, of the same safety of judgment that it brought in the political polemics. Like philosopher, it treated in free thinker religious questions and was shown, in French journalism, one of the rare representatives of neo-hegelian metaphysics. “Philosophy hégélienne, said it in 1858, in an article on Hegel, “it is the reasoned conscience, philosophical, that the human spirit acquired itself, of its own freedom and its dependence of the universal life. The conscience that it has itself is developed by the experiment of the centuries, as develops that of the individual by the experiment of the life. ” Nefftzer did not publish in volumes any of its literary or philosophical studies. One can quote however, among his principal articles inserted in the Germanic Review :

the Foundation of Schiller ;
Of the apocalyptic literature at the Jews and the first Christians (July and October 1858),
Hegel and German philosophy (September and November 1858), etc

It made appear, in collaboration with Charles Dollfus, a translation of German of the New life of Jesus of D.F. Strauss (1864).

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