Léon Ollé-Laprune
Encyclopedia
Léon Ollé-Laprune was a French Catholic philosopher.
and of Père Gratry's book Les Sources, Ollé-Laprune, after exceptionally brilliant studies at the Ecole Normale Supérieure
(1858 to 1861), devoted himself to philosophy. His life was spent in teaching, first in the lycées and then in the Ecole Normale Supérieure from 1875.
As Frédéric Ozanam
had been a Catholic professor of history and foreign literature in the university, Ollé-Laprune's aim was to be a Catholic professor of philosophy there. Theodore de Regnon, the Jesuit theologian, wrote to him:
The Government of the Third Republic
was now and then urged by a certain section of the press to punish the "clericalism" of Ollé-Laprune, but the repute of his philosophical teaching protected him. For one year only (1881-82), after organizing a manifestation in favour of the expelled congregations, he was suspended from his chair by Jules Ferry
, and the first to sign the protest addressed by his students to the minister on behalf of their professor was the future socialist deputy Jean Jaurès
, then a student at the Ecole Normale Supérieure.
The Academy of Moral and Political Sciences elected him a member of the philosophical section in 1897, to succeed Vacherot. Some months after his death William P. Coyne called him "the greatest Catholic layman who has appeared in France since Ozanam" ("New Ireland Review", June, 1899, p. 195).
a thesis on moral certitude. As against Cartesian rationalism and positivistic determinism, he investigated the part of the will and the heart in the phenomenon of belief. This work resembles in many respects John Henry Newman's Grammar of Assent.
In his "Essai sur la morale d'Aristote" (1881) Ollé-Laprune defended the "Eudaemonism" of the Greek philosopher against the Kantian theories; and in "La philosophie et le temps présent" (1890) he vindicated, against deistic spiritualism, the right of the Christian thinker to go beyond the data of "natural religion" and illuminate philosophy by the data of revealed religion.
One of his most influential works was the "Prix de la vie" (1894), wherein he shows why life is worth living. The advice given by Pope Leo XIII
to the Catholics of France found in Ollé-Laprune to the Catholics of France found in Ollé-Laprune an active champion. His brochure "Ce qu'on va chercher à Rome" (1895) was one of the best commentaries on the papal policy.
His articles and conferences attest his growing influence in Catholic circles. He became a leader of Christian activity, consulted and heard by all until his premature death when he was about to finish a book on Jouffroy (Paris, 1899). Many of his articles have been collected by Goyau under the title "La Vitalité chrétienne" (1901). Here will also be found a series of his unedited meditations, "Omnia instaurare in Christo". Professor Delbos of the University of Paris published in 1907 the course which Ollé-Laprune had given on reason and rationalism (La raison et le rationalisme).
Life
Under the influence of the philosopher Elme Marie CaroElme Marie Caro
Elme Marie Caro , was a French philosopher.His father, a professor of philosophy, gave him an excellent education at the Stanislas College and the École Normale, where he graduated in 1848...
and of Père Gratry's book Les Sources, Ollé-Laprune, after exceptionally brilliant studies at the Ecole Normale Supérieure
École Normale Supérieure
The École normale supérieure is one of the most prestigious French grandes écoles...
(1858 to 1861), devoted himself to philosophy. His life was spent in teaching, first in the lycées and then in the Ecole Normale Supérieure from 1875.
As Frédéric Ozanam
Frédéric Ozanam
Antoine-Frédéric Ozanam was a French scholar. He founded with fellow students the Conference of Charity, later known as the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul...
had been a Catholic professor of history and foreign literature in the university, Ollé-Laprune's aim was to be a Catholic professor of philosophy there. Theodore de Regnon, the Jesuit theologian, wrote to him:
- "I am glad to think that God wills in our time to revive the lay apostolate, as in the times of Justin and Athenagoras; it is you especially who give me these thoughts."
The Government of the Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
was now and then urged by a certain section of the press to punish the "clericalism" of Ollé-Laprune, but the repute of his philosophical teaching protected him. For one year only (1881-82), after organizing a manifestation in favour of the expelled congregations, he was suspended from his chair by Jules Ferry
Jules Ferry
Jules François Camille Ferry was a French statesman and republican. He was a promoter of laicism and colonial expansion.- Early life :Born in Saint-Dié, in the Vosges département, France, he studied law, and was called to the bar at Paris in 1854, but soon went into politics, contributing to...
, and the first to sign the protest addressed by his students to the minister on behalf of their professor was the future socialist deputy Jean Jaurès
Jean Jaurès
Jean Léon Jaurès was a French Socialist leader. Initially an Opportunist Republican, he evolved into one of the first social democrats, becoming the leader, in 1902, of the French Socialist Party, which opposed Jules Guesde's revolutionary Socialist Party of France. Both parties merged in 1905 in...
, then a student at the Ecole Normale Supérieure.
The Academy of Moral and Political Sciences elected him a member of the philosophical section in 1897, to succeed Vacherot. Some months after his death William P. Coyne called him "the greatest Catholic layman who has appeared in France since Ozanam" ("New Ireland Review", June, 1899, p. 195).
Works
Ollé-Laprune's first important work was La Philosophie de Malebranche (1870). Ten years later to obtain the doctorate he defended before the SorbonneSorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
a thesis on moral certitude. As against Cartesian rationalism and positivistic determinism, he investigated the part of the will and the heart in the phenomenon of belief. This work resembles in many respects John Henry Newman's Grammar of Assent.
In his "Essai sur la morale d'Aristote" (1881) Ollé-Laprune defended the "Eudaemonism" of the Greek philosopher against the Kantian theories; and in "La philosophie et le temps présent" (1890) he vindicated, against deistic spiritualism, the right of the Christian thinker to go beyond the data of "natural religion" and illuminate philosophy by the data of revealed religion.
One of his most influential works was the "Prix de la vie" (1894), wherein he shows why life is worth living. The advice given by Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
to the Catholics of France found in Ollé-Laprune to the Catholics of France found in Ollé-Laprune an active champion. His brochure "Ce qu'on va chercher à Rome" (1895) was one of the best commentaries on the papal policy.
His articles and conferences attest his growing influence in Catholic circles. He became a leader of Christian activity, consulted and heard by all until his premature death when he was about to finish a book on Jouffroy (Paris, 1899). Many of his articles have been collected by Goyau under the title "La Vitalité chrétienne" (1901). Here will also be found a series of his unedited meditations, "Omnia instaurare in Christo". Professor Delbos of the University of Paris published in 1907 the course which Ollé-Laprune had given on reason and rationalism (La raison et le rationalisme).