Andre Morellet

André Morellet was born on March 7, 1727 in Lyon, France. He was educated by the Jesuits in Lyon and at the Sorbonne, where he studied theology and became friends with future statesmen such as Loménie de Brienne, Champion de Cicé and Turgot. He also befriended the philosophes of the Enlightenment, such as Diderot, D'Alembert and Voltaire. He took holy orders, but his designation of abbé was the only thing clerical about him. He was a frequent visitor of the salons of Madame Geoffrin, Madame du Deffand and Madame d'Holbach, where he mingled with the intellectual elite of his time. Morellet contributed to the Encyclopédie, writing six articles on literary criticism, theology and philosophy. He also wrote several pamphlets on various topics, such as religious tolerance, inoculation, penal reform, liberty of the press and freedom of commerce. He was a supporter of free trade and an opponent of mercantilism and physiocracy. He translated into French several works by English and Italian authors, such as Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, Cesare Beccaria's On Crimes and Punishments and Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia. He also wrote memoirs that provide valuable insights into the social and intellectual life of his era. Morellet was involved in some political affairs, such as the Calas affair, the grain trade controversy and the American Revolution. He corresponded with Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, whom he admired. He was elected to the Académie française in 1785. During the French Revolution, he supported the moderate constitutional monarchy and opposed the radical Jacobins. He survived the Reign of Terror and welcomed the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. He died on January 12, 1819 in Paris at the age of 91. He was one of the last survivors of the Enlightenment age philosophes.