Joseph De Maistre (Twayne's World Authors Series) [Hardcover]

Charles M. Lombard (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 157 pages
• Publisher: Irvington Pub (June 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805762477
• ISBN-13: 978-0805762471
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,703,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Joseph de Maistre: Harbinger of Counter-revolution., October 21, 2002

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New Age of Barbarism "zosimos" (EVROPA.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Joseph De Maistre (Twayne's World Authors Series) (Hardcover)

This biography of the French Counter-revolutionary thinker, Joseph de Maistre, provides an excellent introduction to the thought of this Catholic militant. Joseph de Maistre was an arch-reactionary opponent of the French revolution and proponent of a properly restored monarchy and Catholicism and a united Christianity under papal rule. The main bases for his thought lie in his Catholicism, his adherence to Tradition and the monarchy, his anti-Modernism and reaction to the ideals of the French revolution, and in the occultist illuminism of Saint-Martin and the Freemasonic tradition. In his "Considerations sur la France", de Maistre argues against the thought of the "philosophes" and eighteenth century Enlightenment thinkers and for a restored monarchy and Catholicism rooted in tradition. Contrary to the Revolutionary idealism, Maistre argues that man is imperfect and rooted in sin and thus a rational reconstruction of society is doomed to failure. In "Du Pape", de Maistre outlines his belief in papal authority and the supremacy of the Catholic Church. As a Catholic de Maistre believes the Pope to be infallible and in the necessity of his wielding power over earthly sovereigns. Both a Freemason and a Catholic, de Maistre argues for a Catholic subsumption of the Orthodox Churches, the Protestant Churches, and other schismatics and heretics under papal rule. This particular book brought much strong reaction because of the radical nature of its main argument. De Maistre's Catholicism is extreme in its opposition to both the Reformation and Modernity. De Maistre spent much of his time in Russia as an ambassador for Sardinia, and in the "Soirees de Saint-Petersbourg", he presents arguments about various aspects concerning the laws and the need for a return to tradition. De Maistre has unique thoughts about the origins of languages and the American Indians and other aboriginal peoples. Contrary to the popular Rousseauian "noble savage" ideal, de Maistre presents a much more realistic picture of the American Indian and the development of the world's religions from a primordial tradition and encounter with God. His other works include discussions of illuminism, theosophy (especially that of Saint-Martin, to whom he was a follower of), supernaturalism and occultism, and the nature of tradition and government. The author shows de Maistre to be a precursor to Romanticism in his aesthetic writings. Furthermore, the author examines de Maistre's influence on subsequent thinkers including Catholics such as Jacques Maritaine, and others such as Charles Maurras and Baudelaire. This book is an excellent biography of a reactionary opponent to the French Revolution and modernity, a Catholic Traditionalist, and a thinker who calls for a restoration of monarchism and privelege. In particular, this book focuses on the role of de Maistre in literature. While the thought of de Maistre would certainly not be considered popular today, his thought is a uniquely Catholic and traditional one which offers hope against the viscitudes of modernity.