2 Quotes & Sayings By Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes
Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes was a French philosopher who is best known for his role in the French Revolution. He was born in Paris on April 3, 1748. He was educated at the Oratorian school in Paris, where he learned Latin and Greek. Later, he learned Italian and English
His father was a respected lawyer, but his mother's family had aristocratic connections. From an early age, Sieyes was precocious and rebellious. When he was thirteen years old, he left the Oratorian school to work as a clerk for the Minister of Justice; he also served in the army for two years. He began writing fiction during his time in prison for having defended an anti-clerical politician, but it is uncertain whether these writings were ever published.
After his release from prison, Sieyes became an ardent supporter of the Jacobins (radical revolutionaries) and wrote many articles in support of the Revolution; he also edited three journals for them. Although most of his writings were political in nature, he also wrote essays on science and mathematics; he wrote about the social implications of new inventions like steam engines and cotton gin (he thought they would lead to equality). Sieyes' views on government were influenced by Enlightenment philosophers such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire, whom he revered as teachers. Sieyes' ideas strongly influenced later revolutionaries like Thomas Paine and John Adams.
He became friends with Danton when they were imprisoned together in 1794; they remained close friends even after Danton's death in 1794. After the arrest of Robespierre by the Thermidorian Reaction, Sieyes went into hiding with Germaine de Staël and Victor Cousin; however, when they were found out by police in 1805 they were forced to flee France for a few years to Switzerland. After a political amnesty was declared in 1807 Sieyes returned to France and devoted himself to writing again, though he continued to write political essays as well as literary works which often criticized Napoleon's actions during his reign. On December 25th 1814 Napoleon issued a decree returning Sieyes to complete freedom from all charges but Sieyes refused this offer because it meant that there would be no penalties for those who advocated reform or revolution against him. In 1815 Sieyes wrote a famous pamphlet called "The Law of Reason", which espoused Rousseau's ideas on government being based on what was best for society instead of what was best