Michelet - Jules Michelet

French historian. Born to a poor printer in Paris. He studied while helping the family business from an early age, and graduated from the University of Paris in 1820. In 1826, he became a professor of history and philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure (Ecole Normale Supérieure). In opposition to the reactionary times of the Restoration, he resonated with the liberalism of Guizot and Cousin, and learned a systematic understanding of history from Cousin's philosophy in particular. However, he soon became repelled by their opportunism, and struggled to understand history in a way that harmonizes the inner self with the outside world. After the July Revolution of 1830, under the influence of Vico, he succeeded in forming his own romantic philosophy of history, centered on people who were suited to the times, represented the times, and led the times. He published his debut work, "Introduction to the History of the World," in 1830, and following "History of the Roman Republic" in 1831, he began writing "History of France" (17 volumes, 1833-1867), which would become his life's greatest work and major work, in 1833. His gorgeous style, picturesque descriptions, and especially his vivid portrayals of characters won him many enthusiastic readers. In 1838, he became a professor at the Collège de France, but he was troubled by the contradiction between the spiritual legacy of the French Revolution and the civil society of the time, and he also wrote about political and social issues (Monks, Women, Families, 1844, The People, 1846, etc.). In particular, his History of the French Revolution (7 volumes, 1847-53), which is filled with love for the people, forms the historical background of the February Revolution in 1848, and by thoroughly depicting the interrelationships between the era, the people, and revolutionary politicians, it goes beyond mere historical research and is praised as the greatest historical literature in the history of 19th century French literature. However, he was skeptical of the excesses of the revolution and rebelled against the establishment of the Second Empire, which led to him being fired from his job. From then on, he not only wrote history books, but also expanded his writing to poetic prose descriptions of nature and animals (The Birds, 1856, Love, 1858, and Women, 1859). He also sympathized with the Paris Commune, and ended his life as one of the most beloved historians by the 19th century French people.

[Kinichi Higuchi]

"History of the French Revolution" translated by Takeo Kuwahara et al. (included in "37 World Masterpieces", Chuokoron-Shinsha, 1968)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

フランスの歴史家。パリの貧しい印刷業者の子に生まれる。幼いときから家業を手伝いつつ勉学、1820年にパリ大学を卒業。26年から高等師範学校(エコール・ノルマル・シュペリュール)の歴史・哲学の教授となった。王政復古期の反動的な時勢に抗してギゾー、クーザンたちの自由主義に共鳴し、とくにクーザンの哲学から体系的な歴史理解を学んだが、やがてその機会主義に反発を覚えるようになり、内心と外界とを調和させる歴史把握を目ざして苦心した。30年の7月革命ののち、ビコの影響のもと、時代に適合し、時代を代表し、時代を指導する人物を中心とする独自のロマン主義的歴史哲学を形成することに成功した。処女作『世界史への序説』を30年に公にして、31年の『ローマ共和政史』に続いて、33年から一生の大著、主著となる『フランス史』（全17巻、1833～67）の筆をとり始めた。その華麗な文体、絵画的な描写、とりわけ人物の活写により多くの熱狂的な読者を獲得した。38年からはコレージュ・ド・フランスの教授となったが、フランス革命の精神的遺産と当時の市民社会との矛盾に悩み、政治・社会問題にも筆をとった（『僧、婦人、家族』1844、『民衆』1846など）。とりわけ、人民への愛に満ちた『フランス革命史』（全七巻、1847～53）は、48年の二月革命の時代的背景をなすもので、時代と人民と革命政治家との相互関係を描き尽くすことによって、単なる歴史研究の域を超えて、19世紀フランス文学史中の最高の歴史文学とたたえられる。しかし、革命の行きすぎにも疑念をもつうちに第二帝政の成立にあってこれに反抗し、職を追われた。以後、彼は歴史書のみでなく、散文詩的な自然・動物の描写にも筆を伸ばし（『鳥』1856、『愛』1858、『女性』1859）、またパリ・コミューンにも共鳴し、19世紀フランスの国民にもっとも愛された歴史家として生を終えた。

［樋口謹一］

『桑原武夫他訳『フランス革命史』（『世界の名著37』所収・1968・中央公論社）』

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