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Joseph-Marie, Comte de Maistre (April 1, 1753- February 26, 1821) was a French-speaking Savoyard lawyer, diplomat, writer, and philosopher. He was one of the most influential spokesmen for a counter-revolutionary and authoritarian conservatism in the period immediately following the French Revolution of 1789. De Maistre argued for the restoration of hereditary monarchy, which he regarded as a divinely sanctioned institution, and for the supreme authority of the Pope in both religious and political matters.
According to de Maistre, only governments founded on the Christian constitution, implicit in the customs and institutions of all European societies but especially in that of Catholic European monarchies, could avoid the disorder and bloodletting that followed the implementation of rationalist political programs, such as that of the 1789 revolution. An enthusiastic believer in the principle of established authority, which the Revolution sought to destroy, de Maistre defended it everywhere: in the State by extolling the monarchy, in the Church by exalting the privileges of the papacy, and in the world by glorifying God's providence.
Early life
De Maistre was born at Chambéry, in the Duchy of Savoy, which at the time belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia. His family was of French origin and had settled in Savoy a century earlier, eventually attaining a high position and aristocratic rank. His father had served as president of the Savoy Senate and his younger brother, Xavier de Maistre, would later become a military officer and a popular writer of fiction. Joseph was probably educated by the Jesuits. After the Revolution, he became an ardent defender of their Order as he came increasingly to associate the spirit of the Revolution with the spirit of the Jesuits' traditional enemies, the Jansenists. After training in the law, he followed in his father's footsteps by becoming a senator in 1787. More on [ Joseph de Maistre ]
French Revolution :: Eighteenth Century
Monarchy
"Jedes Volk hat die Regierung, die es verdient." Joseph Marie de Maistre (1753-1821).
vito23 (jörg vitovec) Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:17:49 -0000
"Jedes Volk hat die Regierung, die es verdient." Joseph Marie de Maistre (1753-1821).
Catholic Encyclopedia: Joseph-Marie, Comte de Maistre - Biographic article from the 1911 edition, summarizing his chief arguments for authority and against Gallicanism.
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CyberNation Quotations: Joseph de Maistre - Small collection of uncited quotes on human nature.
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Joseph Maistre - A repository of electronic texts by and about the Counter-Enlightenment theorist and writer by Richard Lebrun at the University of Manitoba. Also includes a brief biography, bibliography, and links to related sites.
Modern History Sourcebook: Divine Origins of Constitutions - Excerpt from de Maistre's 1810 work on the source of authority for constitutional governments.
Writings of Joseph de Maistre in English Translation - Translated excerpts of the counterrevolutionary theoretician's Considerations on France, Study on Sovereignty, Essay on Political Constitutions, The St. Petersburg Dialogues, and Englightenment on Sacrifices.
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