Camille Jordan (politician)
Encyclopedia
Camille Jordan was a French
politician
born in Lyon
of a well-to-do mercantile family.
Jordan was educated in Lyon, and from an early age was imbued with royalist principles. He actively supported by voice, pen and musket his native town in its resistance to the Convention; and when Lyon fell, in October 1793, Jordan fled. From Switzerland
he passed in six months to England
, where he formed acquaintances with other French exiles and with prominent British statesmen, and imbibed a lasting admiration for the English Constitution.
In 1796 he returned to France, and next year he was sent by Lyon as a deputy to the Council of the Five Hundred. There his eloquence won him consideration. He earnestly supported what he felt to be true freedom, especially in matters of religious worship, though the energetic appeal on behalf of church bells in his Rapport sur la liberté des cultes procured him the sobriquet of "Jordan-Cloche". Proscribed at the coup d'état
of the 18th Fructidor (4 September 1797) he escaped to Basel
. Thence he went to Germany, where he met Goethe
.
Back again in France by 1800, he boldly published in 1802 his Vrai sens du vote national pour le consulat à vie, in which he exposed the ambitious schemes of Bonaparte. He was unmolested, however, and during the First Empire lived in literary retirement at Lyon with his wife and family, producing for the Lyon academy occasional papers on the Influence réciproque de l'éloquence sur la Révolution et de la Révolution sur l'éloquence; Etudes sur Klopstock, etc.
At the restoration in 1814 he again emerged into public life. By Louis XVIII
he was ennobled and named a councillor of state; and from 1816 he sat in the chamber of deputies as representative of Am. At first he supported the ministry, but when they began to show signs of reaction he separated from them, and gradually came to be at the head of the constitutional opposition. His speeches in the chamber were always eloquent and powerful. Though warned by failing health to resign, Camille Jordan remained at his post till his death at Paris, on 19 May 1821.
To his pen we owe (1791); (1792); (1792); (I797); (1818); (1818). His were collected in 1818. The and translations from the German, were published in . Besides the various histories of the time, see further details vol. x. of the ; a paper on Jordan and Madame de Staël, by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
, in the Revue des deux mondes
for March 1868 and R Boubbe, "Camille Jordan à Weimar," in the Correspondance (1901), ccv. 718–738 and 948–970.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
born in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
of a well-to-do mercantile family.
Jordan was educated in Lyon, and from an early age was imbued with royalist principles. He actively supported by voice, pen and musket his native town in its resistance to the Convention; and when Lyon fell, in October 1793, Jordan fled. From Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
he passed in six months to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he formed acquaintances with other French exiles and with prominent British statesmen, and imbibed a lasting admiration for the English Constitution.
In 1796 he returned to France, and next year he was sent by Lyon as a deputy to the Council of the Five Hundred. There his eloquence won him consideration. He earnestly supported what he felt to be true freedom, especially in matters of religious worship, though the energetic appeal on behalf of church bells in his Rapport sur la liberté des cultes procured him the sobriquet of "Jordan-Cloche". Proscribed at the coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
of the 18th Fructidor (4 September 1797) he escaped to Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
. Thence he went to Germany, where he met Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
.
Back again in France by 1800, he boldly published in 1802 his Vrai sens du vote national pour le consulat à vie, in which he exposed the ambitious schemes of Bonaparte. He was unmolested, however, and during the First Empire lived in literary retirement at Lyon with his wife and family, producing for the Lyon academy occasional papers on the Influence réciproque de l'éloquence sur la Révolution et de la Révolution sur l'éloquence; Etudes sur Klopstock, etc.
At the restoration in 1814 he again emerged into public life. By Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
he was ennobled and named a councillor of state; and from 1816 he sat in the chamber of deputies as representative of Am. At first he supported the ministry, but when they began to show signs of reaction he separated from them, and gradually came to be at the head of the constitutional opposition. His speeches in the chamber were always eloquent and powerful. Though warned by failing health to resign, Camille Jordan remained at his post till his death at Paris, on 19 May 1821.
To his pen we owe (1791); (1792); (1792); (I797); (1818); (1818). His were collected in 1818. The and translations from the German, were published in . Besides the various histories of the time, see further details vol. x. of the ; a paper on Jordan and Madame de Staël, by Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve was a literary critic and one of the major figures of French literary history.-Early years:...
, in the Revue des deux mondes
Revue des deux mondes
The Revue des deux Mondes is a French language monthly literary and cultural affairs magazine that has been published in Paris since 1829....
for March 1868 and R Boubbe, "Camille Jordan à Weimar," in the Correspondance (1901), ccv. 718–738 and 948–970.