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Louis Jacolliot (31 October 1837 – 30 October 1890) was a French barrister, colonial judge, author and lecturer.


Biography

Born in
Charolles Charolles (; Burgundian: ''Tsarolles'') is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Since 2004 is Charolles part of the Charolais-Brionnais Country. Geography Charolles is locate ...
,
Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is B ...
, he lived several years in
Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
during the period 1865-1869. Jacolliot's ''Occult science in India'' was written during the 1860s and published 1875 (English translation 1884). Jacolliot was searching for the "Indian roots of western occultism" and makes reference to an otherwise unknown Sanskrit text he calls ''Agrouchada-Parikchai'', which is apparently Jacolliot's personal invention, a "pastiche" of elements taken from
Upanishads The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...
, Dharmashastras and "a bit of
Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...
". Jacolliot also expounds his belief in a lost Pacific continent, and was quoted on this by
Helena Blavatsky Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian-born Mysticism, mystic and writer who emigrated to the United States where she co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875. She gained an internat ...
in ''
Isis Unveiled ''Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology'', published in 1877, is a book of esoteric philosophy and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's first major self-published major work text and a key doctrine in he ...
'' in support of her own
Lemuria Lemuria (), or Limuria, was a continent proposed in 1864 by zoologist Philip Sclater, theorized to have sunk beneath the Indian Ocean, later appropriated by occultists in supposed accounts of human origins. The theory was discredited with the dis ...
. In Jacolliot's book (1869)L. Jacolliot (1869)
La Bible dans l'Inde"> La Bible dans l'Inde
', Librairie Internationale, Paris (digitized by Google Books)
(),Louis Jacolliot (1870)
The Bible in India
', Carleton, New York (digitized by Google Books)
he compares the accounts of the life of Bhagavan Krishna with that of Jesus Christ in the Gospels and concludes that it could not have been a coincidence, so similar are the stories in so many details in his opinion. He concludes that the account in the Gospels is a myth based on the mythology of ancient India. Jacolliot does not claim that Jesus was in India as some have claimed. "Christna" is his way of spelling "Krishna" and he wrote that Krishna's disciples gave him the name "Iezeus" which means "pure essence" in Sanskrit. However, Sanskrit philologist
Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born British comparative philologist and oriental studies, Orientalist. He was one of the founders of the Western academic disciplines of Indology and religious s ...
confirmed that it is not a Sanskrit term at all and "it was simply invented" by Jacolliot. Jacolliot was successfully sued for defamation by Father
Honoré Laval Honoré Laval, SS.CC., (born ''Louis-Jacques Laval''; 5/6 February 1808 – 1 November 1880) was a French people, French Catholic priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (also known as the Picpus Fathers), a religious ins ...
ss.cc, and ordered by the Supreme Court of the State of the Protectorate of the Society Islands to pay 15,000 francs in damages. It ordered the suppression of those portions of the pamphlet "La verité sur Tahiti" deemed defamatory, and further ordered that the judgement be printed in the official journal of the Protectorate in French, English, and Tahitian, as well as in three newspapers of the French colonies, three journals of Paris, and four gazettes of provinces of Laval's choosing."Father Honore Laval and His Fellow-Laborers in the Pacific", ''Wellington Independent'', Volume XXVII, Issue 3692, 31 December 1872, p. 3
/ref> He has been described as a prolific writer for his time. During his time in India he collected
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
myths Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
, which he popularized later starting in his ' (1874). Among other things, he claimed that
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
writings (or unspecified "Sanskrit tablets") would tell the story of a sunken land called "Rutas" in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
. However, he relocated this
lost continent Lost lands are islands or continents believed by some to have existed during prehistory, but to have since disappeared as a result of catastrophic geological phenomena. Legends of lost lands often originated as scholarly or scientific theori ...
to the
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
and linked it to the
Atlantis Atlantis () is a fictional island mentioned in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and ''Critias'' as part of an allegory on the hubris of nations. In the story, Atlantis is described as a naval empire that ruled all Western parts of the known world ...
-myth. Furthermore, his "discovery" of Rutas is somehow similar to the origin of the Mu-Story. Among his works is a translation of the ''
Manu Smriti The ''Manusmṛti'' (), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or the Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitutions among the many ' of Hinduism. Over fifty manuscripts of the ''Manusmriti'' are now known, but the earli ...
''. This work influenced
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...
: see ''
Tschandala Tschandala (old German language, German transcription of ''chandala'') is a term Friedrich Nietzsche borrowed from the Indian caste system, where a chandala is a member of the lowest social class. Nietzsche's interpretation and use of the term reli ...
''. Between 1867 and 1876, he also translated select verses of the
Tirukkural The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' (), or shortly the ''Kural'' (), is a classic Tamil language text on commoner's morality consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or Kural (poetic form), kurals, of seven words each. The text is divided into three books wit ...
, an ancient
Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
classic on ethics and morality. He died in
Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Population Inhabitants of Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes are known as ''Théobaldiens'' in French. Education There are ...
,
Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...
.


Works

*
La Devadassi
' (1868) *
La Bible dans l'Inde, ou la Vie de Iezeus Christna
' (The Bible in India or The life of Iezeus Christna) (1869) *
Les Fils de Dieu
' (God's Sons) (1873) *
Christna et le Christ
' (Christna and Christ) (1874) *'' Histoire des Vierges. Les Peuples et les continents disparus'' (History of the Virgins. Vanished People and Continents) (1874) *
La Genèse de l'Humanité. Fétichisme, polythéisme, monothéisme
' (Genesis of Mankind. Fetichism, polytheism, monotheism) (1875) *
Le Spiritisme dans le monde, L'initiation et les sciences occultes dans l'Inde et chez tous les peuples de l'antiquité
', Paris: Lacroix, 1875, 1879, reprint Geneve, Paris: Slatkine 1981. **translated into English as

', New York: Lovell/ London 1884, reprinted 1901, 1919; New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books 1971. *
Les Traditions Indo-européennes et Africaines
' (Indo-European and African Traditions) (1876) *
Pariah dans l'Humanité
' (The Outcasts in the History of Mankind) (1876) *'' Les Législateurs religieux : Manou, Moïse, Mahomet'' (Religious Lawmakers : Manu, Moses, Muhammad) (1876) *''La Femme dans l'Inde'' (Women in India) (1877) *
Rois, prêtres et castes
' (Kings, Clergy and Castes) (1877) *
L'Olympe brahmanique. La mythologie de Manou
' (The Brahmanic Pantheon. Manu's Mythology) (1881) *''Fakirs et bayadères'' (Fakirs and Devadasi) (1904) * La Vérité sur Tahiti *
Voyage au pays des Bayadères
' (Journey to the Land of the Devadasi) (1873) *
Voyage au pays des perles
' (Journey to the Land of the Pearls) I (1874) *
Voyage au pays des éléphants
' (Journey to the Land of the Elephants)II (1876) *''Second voyage au pays des éléphants'' III (Second Journey to the Land of the Elephants) (1877) *'' Voyage aux ruines de Golconde et à la cité des morts - Indoustan'' I (Journey to the ruins of Golkonda and the City of the Dead) (1875) *'' Voyage aux pays des Brahmes'' II (Journey to the Land of Brahmans) (1878) *''Voyage au pays du Hatschisch'' III (Journey to the Land of Hachisch) (1883) *
Voyage au pays de la Liberté : la vie communale aux Etats-Unis
' (Journey to the Land of Freedom: Community Life in the United-States of America) (1876) *''Voyage aux rives du Niger, au Bénin et dans le Borgou'' I (Journey to the Banks of the Niger River, Benin and Borgu) (1879) *
Voyage aux pays mystérieux. Du Bénin au pays des Yébous; chez les Yébous - Tchadé
' II (1880) *
Voyage au pays des singes
' III (1883) *'' Voyage au pays des fakirs charmeurs'' (1881) *''Voyage au pays des palmiers'' (1884) *''Voyage humoristique au pays des kangourous'' I (1884) *''Voyage dans le buisson australien'' II (1884) *''Voyage au pays des Jungles. Les Femmes dans l'Inde'' (1889) *''Trois mois sur le Gange et le Brahmapoutre''. Ecrit par Madame Louis Jacolliot née Marguerite Faye (1875) *''Taïti, le crime de Pitcairn, souvenirs de voyages en Océanie'' (1878) *''La Côte d'Ebène. Le dernier des négriers'' I (1876) *''La Côte d'Ivoire. L'homme des déserts'' II (1877) *''La Cité des sables. El Temin'' III (1877) *''Les Pêcheurs de nacre'' IV (1883) *''L'Afrique mystérieuse'' I, II, III (1877); I, II, III, IV (1884) *''Les Mangeurs de feu'' (The Fire Eaters) (1887) *''Vengeance de forçats'' (The Convict's Revenge) (1888) *''Les Chasseurs d'esclaves'' (Slave Hunter) (1888) *''Le Coureur des jungles'' (1888) *''Les Ravageurs de la mer'' (1890) *''Perdus sur l'océan'' (Lost upon the Ocean) (1893) *''Les Mouches du coche'' (1880) *''Le Crime du moulin d'Usor'' (1888) *''L'Affaire de la rue de la Banque. Un mystérieux assassin'' (1890) *''Scènes de la vie de mer. Le capitaine de vaisseau'' (1890) *''Un Policier de génie. Le mariage de Galuchon'' (1890) *''Scènes de la vie de mer. Mémoires d'un lieutenant de vaisseau'' (1891) *''L'Affaire de la rue de la Banque. Le Père Lafouine'' (1892) *''La vérité sur Taïti. Affaire de la Roncière'' (1869) *''Ceylan et les Cinghalais'' (1883) *''La Genèse de la terre et de l'humanité'' I (1884) *''Le Monde primitif, les lois naturelles, les lois sociales'' II (1884) *''Les Animaux sauvages'' (1884)


See also

*
Tirukkural translations into French French has the second maximum number of translations of the Tirukkural among European languages, next only to English. As of 2015, there were at least 18 translations of the Kural text available in French. History of translations The first transl ...


References


Further reading

*Daniel Caracostea, ''Louis-François Jacolliot (1837 – 1890) : A biographical essay'' (1997) *Christian Gaillard, ''L'orientalisme anticlérical de Louis Jacolliot (1837 – 1890)'' (2001) *Koenraad Elst: Manu as a Weapon against Egalitarianism. Nietzsche and Hindu Political Philosophy, in: Siemens, Herman W. / Roodt, Vasti (Hg.): Nietzsche, Power and Politics. Rethinking Nietzsche’s Legacy for Political Thought, Berlin / New York 2008, 543-582. * Angelo Paratico ''The Karma Killers'' New York, 2010.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacolliot, Louis 1837 births 1890 deaths People from Charolles French Indologists 19th-century French writers French male non-fiction writers 19th-century French male writers Tamil–French translators Translators of the Tirukkural into French 19th-century translators French lecturers