Elected deputy for the Jura at twenty-six, he voted in 1880 against “Article 7”, aimed at the teaching congregations, lost the confidence of his voters and did not stand again. He devoted himself to letters and became Perpetual Secretary of the Académie française, the only title his epitaph retains.
The story
In 1880 a vote put an end to his political career. Étienne Lamy spoke against “l'article 7” — the provision that barred the religious congregations from teaching — and at once lost the confidence of the Jura republicans who had elected him a deputy at twenty-six. Beaten the following year by a radical, he never held a seat again.
Born at Cize, in the Jura, on 2 June 1845, Étienne Lamy had entered the National Assembly at twenty-six, in 1871, and had made his name there with a report on the naval budget in 1876. After 1880 he turned to letters.
His preface to the Lettres d'Aimée de Coigny — the “young captive” of André Chénier's poem — earned him his academic honours. He was elected to the Académie française on 8 June 1905, to the seat of the sculptor Eugène Guillaume, received by Charles de Freycinet on 11 January 1906, and became its permanent secretary.
He died on 9 January 1919. The epitaph in Division 49 keeps a single title out of a whole life: “ETIENNE LAMY 1845-1919, Secrétaire perpétuel de l'Académie Française.” Of the deputy of twenty-six, nothing remains.
The grave
An inscription that fits on one line and retains a single title: “ETIENNE LAMY 1845-1919 Secrétaire perpétuel de l'Académie Française.” — Perpetual Secretary of the Académie française. Nothing of the deputy elected at twenty-six in 1871, nothing of the report on the Navy budget, nothing of the 1880 vote against “Article 7” that cost him the confidence of his Jura voters and ended his political career. The academic office erased the politician.
On site, do not miss
The epitaph retains a single title: “ETIENNE LAMY 1845-1919, Secrétaire perpétuel de l'Académie Française.” — Perpetual Secretary of the Académie française. Nothing of the deputy of twenty-six, or of the vote that cost him his seat.
Visitors' questions
Where is Étienne Lamy's grave?
In Division 49, chemin de la Cave, first row — the Division of Delacroix and of Gérard de Nerval. The epitaph keeps a single title: “ETIENNE LAMY 1845-1919 Secrétaire perpétuel de l'Académie Française” — perpetual secretary of the Académie française.
Charles NodierWhy did he leave politics?
Because of a vote: in 1880 he came out against “article 7”, which was aimed at the teaching congregations. He lost the trust of the republicans of the Jura, who had elected him a deputy at twenty-six, Reelected in 1876 and 1877, he was beaten in 1881 by a radical and never held a seat again.
Marc FumaroliHow did he enter the Académie?
Through a book: his preface to the Lettres d'Aimée de Coigny, the “Jeune captive” of André Chénier's poem, earned him his academic standing. He was elected on 8 June 1905 to the chair of the sculptor Eugène Guillaume, and received by Charles de Freycinet.
Sully PrudhommeWhat is a perpetual secretary?
The most enduring post in the Académie française: the man who keeps its continuity, its correspondence and its sittings. Lamy held it until his death, in 1919, having been received by Charles de Freycinet in 1906.
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