A mining engineer, a Saint-Simonian who fell out with Enfantin, he co-edited the Encyclopédie nouvelle. By decree of 8 March 1848, he created the École d'Administration, forerunner of the ENA: nine hundred candidates for one hundred and fifty places. His book Terre et Ciel earned him the condemnation of the Church.
The story
Born in Lyons in 1806, out of the École polytechnique in 1827 and a mining engineer, Jean Reynaud joined the Saint-Simonians, the followers of a reforming social doctrine — then broke with Enfantin when he turned that doctrine into a church.
With Pierre Leroux he co-edited the Encyclopédie nouvelle, a venture to spread knowledge in the spirit of social progress.
Under-Secretary of State for Public Instruction in 1848, he created by decree of 8 March the École d'Administration: nine hundred candidates for a hundred and fifty places. It was abolished the following year; the idea came back a century later as the ENA, France's school for senior civil servants.
His book Terre et Ciel (1854), which sought to reconcile faith and reason through a doctrine of the migration of souls, earned him condemnation by the Catholic Church and a considerable following among progressives.
He died on 28 June 1863 and rests in Division 72, avenue Circulaire, first row, beneath a high relief by Henri Chapu, the Genius of Immortality; the inscription, for that matter, opens with a single word: IMMORTALITE.
The grave
One of the most accomplished monuments in Division 72, raised to the designs of the architect Louis Renaud: a high relief by Henri Chapu titled The Genius of Immortality, and a bronze medallion by David d'Angers dated 1838, twenty-five years before the philosopher's death. The inscription opens on the word “IMMORTALITE” and a Latin motto, Transitoriis quaere aeterna. Léonie Reynaud (1814-1903), his wife, rests with him.
On site, do not miss
The high relief by Henri Chapu, The Genius of Immortality, and the Latin motto engraved beneath the word IMMORTALITE: Transitoriis quaere aeterna — seek the eternal through what passes.
Visitors' questions
Where is Jean Reynaud's grave?
In Division 72, avenue Circulaire, first row. The monument, by the architect Louis Renaud, carries a high relief by Henri Chapu — The Genius of Immortality — and a bronze medallion by David d'Angers.
Valentin FoulquierDid Jean Reynaud create the forerunner of the ENA?
Yes: the École d'Administration, created by decree on 8 March 1848 while he was Under-Secretary of State for Public Instruction. Nine hundred candidates came forward for a hundred and fifty places; the school did not outlive the regime.
Michel ChaslesWhy was his book condemned?
Terre et Ciel — Earth and Heaven — published in 1854, claimed to reconcile faith and reason through a doctrine of the migration of souls. The Catholic Church condemned it; progressive circles made it one of their reference books.
Prosper EnfantinWhat does the inscription on his grave say?
It opens with a single word in capitals, “IMMORTALITE”, followed by a Latin motto: Transitoriis quaere aeterna — seek the eternal through the things that pass. His wife Léonie (1814-1903) rests with him.
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