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Gabriel Bonnot de Mably | |
|---|---|
 Gabriel Bonnot de Mably, Musée de la Révolution française. | |
| Born | (1709-03-14)March 14, 1709 |
| Died | April 2, 1785(1785-04-02) (aged 76) |
Gabriel Bonnot de Mably (14 March 1709 inGrenoble – 2 April 1785 in Paris), sometimes known asAbbé de Mably, was a Frenchphilosopher,historian, and writer, who for a short time served in thediplomatic corps. He was a popular 18th-century writer.[1]
Gabriel Bonnot was born atMably, Loire into a family that belonged to theNoblesse de robe orNobles of the Robe. This class formed theSecond Estate whose rank derived from holding judicial or administrative posts and were often hard-working professionals, unlike the aristocraticNoblesse d'épée orNobles of the Sword.[2] He and his older brother Jean added "de Mably" to their names; his younger brotherÉtienne used another family property, atCondillac, Drôme. As 'Condillac', he also became a noted writer and philosopher.
Gabriel and his brothers were educated in an institution run by theSociety of Jesus or Jesuits; he enrolled in aseminary atSaint-Sulpice. In 1742, he became a confidant ofCardinal Tencin, then Minister of State without Portfolio, for whom he carried out various diplomatic roles during the 1740 to 1748War of the Austrian Succession. They included negotiating an alliance withPrussia in 1743 and preparing terms for the 1746Congress of Breda, which sought to agree a separate peace with Britain. However, he fell out with Cardinal Tencin and thereafter focused on scholarly pursuits.[3]
Based on the recommendation ofFrançoise-Louise de Warens, in April 1740, Mably's older brother Jean employed the 28-year-oldJean-Jacques Rousseau as tutor for his two oldest sons. Rousseau produced two short works addressed to Jean de Mably: "Memorandum Presented to Monsieur de Mably on the Education of Monsieur His Son" and the shorter "Plan for the Education of Monsieur de Sainte-Marie". These outline a proposed system of education for Jean de Mably's sons and also present one of his earliest public self-reflections and self-justifications. By summer 1741, Rousseau realized he was ill-suited to the position and the two agreed to end his employment, parting on friendly terms.
The historian Leo Damrosch explains that at this time, Abbé de Mably
had just published a treatise comparing Roman institutions of government with French ones and celebrating the progress of civilization ... Conversing with Mably, Condillac, [and friends he had met at Lyon's reading club] Parisot, Bordes, and their friends, Rousseau found himself in a stimulating intellectual milieu, and the studies he had put himself through inChambéry suddenly came to life.[1]
Rousseau would remain lifelong friends with Mably and his family. Both Mably and his brother Condillac visited Rousseau when he moved toMontmorency, Val-d'Oise.[1] Rousseau later reflected upon his experience tutoring Jean de Mably's sons inThe Confessions.
In 1909, the anarchistPeter Kropotkin credited Mably several achievements: he is credited with being responsible for why the study of politics, constitutions, and elective representation in the 18th century was so popular,[4] with inspiring theegalitarian,communal, and anti-inequality ethos of theFrench Revolution,[5] and for being an early advocate ofcommunist or communal possession of the land.[6]
His writing is quite famous, and his legacy has been claimed variously by monarchists and republicans, moderates and radical egalitarians.[7] Though, despite being one of the central figures of French republicanism in the 18th century, sustained scholarly discussion of Mably was largely absent until after World War II.[8]
Mably's most well-known work isEntretiens de Phocion, adialogue first published in 1763, which introduced themes of his mature thought. Two of his works were published posthumously and they had a profound effect on the early deliberations on the assembly of theEstates-General of 1789: an enlarged version of hisHistoire de France (first published in 1765), which was published in May 1789 to great acclaim. Authorities tried unsuccessfully to suppress it by confiscating many copies. Secondly,Des droits et des devoirs du citoyen, written in 1758, was also published after his death. He warned against events that later developed during theFrench Revolution.
These two works were seen to contribute to the later concepts of both communism andrepublicanism. He advocated the abolition ofprivate property, which he stated incompatible with sympathy andaltruism, and conducive to one's antisociality or egotism. He praiseselitistPlato, but also the enlightenedStoic views on natural humanequality. Mably went further than the traditional Stoic argument that all men possessed adivine spark. He also went beyond the liberal concept ofequality before the law, and argued for theequality of needs. He argued thatvirtue was more valued than the acquisition or possession of material wealth, and criticized idleness. He found an audience among those who were critical of the inherited wealth and privilege of thenobility, who did no work.
Mably's complete works were published in 15 volumes in 1794–1795, with an obituary/biography byGabriel Brizard.
List of 18 published works by Gabriel Bonnot de Mably(1709–1785)
Posthumous publications of individual works, published in 1786-1794
Posthumous Complete works to 1795
Recent Translations in English by Simon de Vries
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