Antoine de Rivarol (26 June 175311 April 1801) was a French

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

writer and translator who lived during the Revolutionary era. He was briefly married to the translator Louisa Henrietta de Rivarol.

Biography

Rivarol was born in Bagnols, Languedoc. It appears that his father, an innkeeper, was a cultivated man. The son assumed the title of comte de Rivarol, asserting a connection with the noble Italian family Riveroli, although his enemies said his name was really "Riverot" and that he was not of noble stock. He went to Paris in 1777 and won several academic prizes. In 1780 he married Louisa Henrietta de Rivarol, a translator of Scottish descent. She had translated some works by

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

and Johnson had become a friend of her family. Antoine Rivarol abandoned his wife after a short relationship which resulted in the birth of a son.J. G. Alger, ‘Rivarol , Louisa Henrietta de (b. before 1750, d. 1821)’, rev. Rebecca Mills, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 6 Dec 2014
/ref> To Rivarol's embarrassment, a nurse who supported his abandoned wife was awarded the

Montyon Prize The Montyon Prize () is a series of prizes awarded annually by the French Academy of Sciences and the Académie française. They are endowed by the French benefactor Baron de Montyon. History Prior to the start of the French Revolution, the B ...

for her humanity. He was divorced in 1784. In 1784, his '' Discours sur l'Universalité de la Langue Française'' and his translation of

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's '' Inferno'' were favourably noted. The year before the French Revolution broke out, he and Champcenetz published a lampoon, titled ''Petit Almanach de nos grands hommes pour 1788'', that ridiculed without pity a number of writers of proven or future talent, along with a great many nobodies. Rivarol was the foremost journalist, commentator and

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia ...

matist among that faction of aristocrats which was most stalwartly conservative: he heaped scorn upon

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...

and defended the ''

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

''.Matyaszewski, Paweł (1997). ''La Pensée Politique d'Antoine de Rivarol''. Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego. Rivarol's writing was published in the ''Journal Politique'' of Antoine Sabatier de Castres and the '' Actes des Apotres'' of Jean Gabriel Peltier. He left France in 1792, first settling in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, then moving successively to London, Hamburg, and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, where he died. Rivarol's rivals in France – in sharp conversational sayings – included

Alexis Piron Alexis Piron (9 July 1689 – 21 January 1773) was a French epigrammatist and dramatist. Life Alexis Piron was born in Dijon, where his father, Aimé Piron, was an apothecary. Piron senior wrote verse in the Burgundian language. Alexis began ...

and Nicolas Chamfort. His brother, Claude François Rivarol (1762–1848), was also an author. His works include a novel, ''Isman, ou le Fatalisme'' (1795); a comedy, ''Le Véridique'' (1827); and the history ''Essai sur les Causes de la Révolution Française'' (1827). He died as exile in

and was interred in the Dorotheenstadt cemetery, but the site of his grave was soon forgotten.

Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomology, entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir ''Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful busin ...

, Rivarol, 1956 (German quote a
books.google.de
; German article a

, Wolf Lepenies,

Die Welt (, ) is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group and it is considered a newspaper of record in Germany. Its leading competitors are the ...

, 04.08.12

Works

* (1782). ''Lettre Critique sur le Poème des Jardins''. * (1783). ''Lettre à M. le Président de *** sur le globe Airostatique, sur les Têtes Parlantes et sur l’État Présent de l’Opinion Publique à Paris''. * (1784). ''De l’Universalité de la Langue Française''. * (1785). ''L’Enfer, Poème du Dante''. * (1787). ''Récit du Portier du Sieur Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais''. * (1788). ''Le Petit Almanach de nos Grands Hommes''. * (1788). ''Première Lettre à M. Necker, sur l’Importance des Opinions Religieuses''. * (1788). ''Seconde Lettre à M. Necker sur la Morale''. * (1788). ''Le Songe d’Athalie'' (with Louis de Champcenetz). * (1789). ''Mémoire sur la Nature et la Valeur de l’Argent''. * (1789). ''Le Petit Almanach de nos Grandes Femmes'' (with Louis de Champcenetz). * (1789). ''Journal Politique-national des États-Généraux et de la Révolution de 1789''. * (1789). ''Adresse à MM. les Impartiaux ou Les Amis de la Paix Réunis chez Monseigneur le Duc de La Rochefoucault''. * (1790). ''Petit Dictionnaire des Grands Hommes de la Révolution'' (with Louis de Champcenetz). * (1790). ''Triomphe de l’Anarchie''. * (1790). ''Épître de Voltaire à Mlle Raucour, actrice du Théâtre-français''. * (1790). ''Le Petit Almanach de nos Grands-hommes''. * (1790). ''Réponse à la réponse de M. de Champcenetz au sujet de l’ouvrage de madame la B. de S*** sur Rousseau''. * (1791). ''Essai sur la Nécessité du Mal''. * (1792). ''De la Vie Politique''. * (1792). ''Lettre à la Noblesse Française, au Moment de sa Rentrée en France sous les Ordres de M. le duc de Brunswick, Généralissime des Armées de l’Empereur et du Roi de Prusse''. * (1792). ''Le Petit Almanach des Grands Spectacles de Paris''. * (1793). ''Adresse du Peuple Belge, à S. M. l’Empereur''. * (1795). ''Histoire Secrète de Coblence dans la Révolution Française''. * (1797). ''Tableau Historique et Politique des Travaux de l’Assemblée Constituante, depuis l’Ouverture des États Généraux jusqu’après la Journée du 6 Octobre 1789''. * (1797). ''Discours Préliminaire du Nouveau Dictionnaire de la Langue Française''. * (1808). ''Œuvres Complètes, Précédées d’une Notice sur sa Vie'' vol.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivarol, Antoine de 1753 births 1801 deaths People from Bagnols-sur-Cèze French monarchists 18th-century French poets French male poets Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences 18th-century French male writers Translators of Dante Alighieri

Biography

Works

References

Further reading

External links