Quinet, Edgar

(1803-1875)

   historian

   Born in Bourg-en-Bresse, Edgar Quinet was the translator of J. G. von Herder's major work, Outlines of a Philosophy ofthe History ofMan (1825), and later took part in an expedition to Greece (1828), after which he published De la Grèce moderne et de ses rapports avec l'Antiquité (1830). Then, influenced by the writings of Mme de staël, he developed a deep interest in German history (Système politique de l'Allemagne, 1831). Quinet also was, along with jules michelet, one of the strongest opponents of clericalism, and the subject of his lectures at the collège de France (against the Jesuits, 1843; Ultramon-tanism, 1844; Christianity and the Revolution, 1845) caused his dismissal in 1846. Elected deputy in 1848, he spoke out for the complete separation of church and state and against the Roman Expedition of 1849, a French campaign against the revolutionary Roman Republic. Proscribed after the coup d'état of December 2, 1851, he went into exile in Belgium and Switzerland, while continuing his studies in history (Les Révolutions d'Italie, 1852; La Révolution, 1965; La Création, 1870). After returning to France, Quinet was elected a deputy (1871) to the National Assembly.