Paul-Louis Courier

Origin

Paul-Louis Courier was born in Paris in 1772. His/her father, rich middle-class, man of much of spirit and elegance, had been obliged to leave Paris after having courted of too close a duchess. It settled in Touraine, initially in the valley of Indre where Balzac will locate " the lily in the vallée" then at Five-March the Pile, close to Langeais. Paul-Louis was sent to Paris to make studies suitable there to open the career of military engineering to him.

Paul-Louis is attracted very early by the Greek Littérature. To like his/her father, makes he studies of Mathématiques. But it cannot escape from the seduction operated on him by some old writers and its Greek books did not leave it: being thus delivered by taste to the study of the Greek language, it followed the lessons of Vauvilliers, professor of the royal Collège, preferably with that of mathematics; however it undergoes its examinations, and the October 6th 1792 was allowed.

The French revolution

However the revolution burst. It enters to the artillery school of Châlons-sur-Marne and becomes lieutenant of Artillerie in the Armée with the Rhine (June 1st 1793). But Paul-Louis Courier hates the war. Moreover it does not have this republican fire that the government commissioners reward with so many liberalities. It passes the best of its time to bouquiner in the abbeys and the old castles.

It was used initially for the Armée with the Moselle, then with that of the the Rhine, then, the 11 messidor year III, with the camp in front of the Forteresse Mainz, it accepted its master's certificate as a second. In 1795, always subaltern, it leaves the face at the time of the Blocus of Mainz with the authorization of a police chief of the Republic on mission and returns in France; it was affected with Albi to govern the reception of the balls provided to the State by the forging mills of the region.

Italy

Sent in germinal year VI to the Armed with England, and attached to the staff of an artillery general, he visited the Côtes of North, and, during a rather long stay with Rennes , he outlined the Praise of Helene , imitated rather than translated Isocrate; it arrived the following year at the Armée with Italy and found itself there artillery commander (1798), at the moment when the Neapolitan ones evacuated Rome, lack to be killed with the Siège of Civita-Vecchia while parlementant with besieged.

He ran a larger danger there still, when in their turn the French gave up the papal city. Transported of Marseilles on an English squadron with the garrison of this fortress, Courier, whose health had deteriorated during its stay in Italy, required employment of the artillery direction of Paris, favor which the ministry granted to him the 17 germinal year VIII.

Named captain in first the 11 germinal year X, and called with its body, then with Strasbourg, it maintained there an active correspondence with the hellenist Clavier and other French and German scientists. During this time, his/her former comrades of the School of Châlons, Duroc and Marmont dealt with its advance.

It was indeed with their request that, the 6 brumaire year XII, the First Consul named it Major 1st artillery regiment with horse in garrison with Florence.

Member of the Legion of honor the 25 meadow year XII, it went on Thermidor 15 to order from Tarente 2 companies of his regiment, which were used for the Armée with Naples, and made the campaigns of years XIII and XIV pennies the generals Gouvion-Saint-Cyr and Reynier.

Chief of staff of artillery of the body established in Calabria the 19 vendémiaire year XIII, it fulfills various missions which the situation of the country made often perilous. Indeed, on several occasions, it fell between the hands from the Calabrian insurgent.

During the countryside of year XIV, it was announced to the Bataille of San-Euphemia, and, with the head of a weak detachment, it beat with Cosenza a considerable band of insurrectionists.

It was enough guerroyer, at least for him, and let us find we it at the beginning of 1807 with Naples, translating the Traités of Xénophon, on the command of the cavalry and horsemanship, and checking the precepts of Hippiatrique of its author while gallopping without saddle nor attaches, on a horse without irons; then from Naples it runs to Rome, which it leaves for Florence, Brescia and Milan, exploring the libraries, and causing with the scholars, without concern of the duties of its profession, and forgetting that it has order to go without delay to the army of Italy.

Also, arrived at its destination, in February, it was shut down without salary. Called the March 5th according to with Leghorn, in the capacity as assistant manager of artillery staff, tired to ask a leave unnecessarily, it ends up sending its resignation, which one accepted the March 10th 1809; but, hardly of return to Paris, he regrets its step, requests its rehabilitation, and happy to have obtained it temporarily, he leaves in all haste, forgets to buy a horse, and attends foot with the Bataille of Wagram.

He leaves the army once again, and gains in all haste the Italy. But, built-in the July 6th in 2nd of artillery with horse, it had been put in the case of to be treated as a deserter, that of which one threatened it.

He discovers in the Bibliothèque Laurentienne with Florence a complete specimen of the novel of Daphnis and Chloé, pastoral of Longus, novel in which up to that point had remained a gap, and he gave a new edition of it, with the translation of Jacques Amyot, which he supplements and publishes in the same style (1810). He attracted himself, on another side, a not nasty business, while making, without authorization of the prefect, to print in Rome a letter addressed to Mr. Renouard, his bookseller, in whom he told him circumstances of his quarrel with the assistant librarian of San Lorenzo of Florence, who showed it to have knowingly mackled of a spot of ink a page of a manuscript of the novel of Longus, Daphnis and Chloé : also it had two ministers with its cases; but the Emperor, on what one says to him of an officer withdrawn in Rome, which made of the Greek, ordered that it was left quiet.

The return to Paris

It was of return to Paris, after scientific voyages in Italy, 1812, translating force Greek, playing Paume, and spending the beautiful days, sometimes in Touraine, sometimes with Saint-Price, in the Vallée of Montmorency.

II is distinguished at the same time as hellenist and political writer. One owes him moreover the treaty of Xénophon On the Cavalry , 1813 and some other work of scholarship.

Whereas he was absolutely not Bonapartist, it is after the fall of the Empire that he began the publication of his lampoons. Too much individualistic to belong to a party, its opposition related to only him but, during this time of choking oppression he was immediately noticed.

More the lively interest stuck to Courier as soon as it appeared.

The refusal of its candidature for the Academy in 1819, gives the opportunity to him to write its first Pamphlet, Lettre with Sirs of the Academy .

Liberal and anticlerical he is opposed more and more violently to the new lords who, says he, strike without pity and terrorize the country. For the Dictionnaire Bouillet writes at the 19th century, it excels as political writer in the lampoon and fights with the weapon of ridiculous, in the caustic style, retrograde measurements of the Restauration; it hides sometimes under the name of Paul Louis, vine grower .

Its writings will be worth many lawsuits, fines and a custodial sentence to him. They will undoubtedly be the cause of its death in a wood of the surroundings of Véretz, Indre-et-Loire, the April 10th 1825. Its difficulties in household could play a part also there: Paul-Louis Courier did not pass to be good in deprived.

Five years after, an young girl, Anne Greveau, secret witness of the crime, revealed the details of them; the culprit, previously discharged, survived little of time this revelation.

This mysterious death inspired the Farm of the seven sins a film of Jean Devaivre (1949) where Jacques Dumesnil interprets the role of Paul-Louis Courier.

Quotations

Let the government perceive taxes and spread graces; but, for God, do not urge it to interfere itself our business. Suffer, if it cannot forget us, that it thinks of us the least possible. Its intentions in our connection are undoubtedly best world, its sights always perfectly wise, and especially not involved; but, by a fate which is never contradicted, all that he encourages languishes, all that he directs is badly, all that he preserve perishes, out the houses of play and vice. (Letter II with the writer of the Critic)
Of the morphine acetate, a grain in a tank is lost, is not felt, in a cup makes vomit, in a keep silent spoonful, and here is the lampoon. (Lampoon of the lampoons)
This churl guessed the Human rights. He was hung, that was to be. (Letter with the writer of the Critic)
Rendons to large what is owe them; but hold we in further we can. (Speech)
people who know the Greek is five or six in Europe; those which know French are in good plus small number. (Extracted from a letter with M.Renouard)

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