About
Edgar Quinet, born in Bourg-en-Bresse in 1803, was a French writer and historian. After a noted translation of Herder, he published the prose poem Ahasvérus (1833) and The Genius of Religions (1842), which made religions the driving force of civilizations. Professor at the Collège de France, he was dismissed for his attacks on the Catholic Church. Deputy in 1848, he was exiled after the 1851 coup d'état. In The Revolution (1865), he analyzed the failure of the Republic. Returning to France in 1870, he became a reference for the secular reforms of the Third Republic.
* 1803-02-17 — † 1875-03-27
Major works
- Ahasvérus (1833)prose poem
- Le Génie des religions (1842)essay
- La Révolution (1865)historical essay
- L'Esprit nouveau (1874)essay
Key milestones
- 1841Appointed professor of Southern literatures at the Collège de France.
- 1851Exiled after Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte's coup d'état.
- 1871Re-elected to the National Assembly after the fall of the Second Empire.
Themes
Role of religions in civilizationCriticism of the Catholic ChurchHuman progressFreedom of conscienceFrench Revolution
Sources: britannica.com · oxfordreference.com