Les Ruines, ou méditation sur les révolutions des empires

C.-F. (Constantin-François) Volney

Constantin-François Chassebœuf de La Giraudais [French: [kɔ̃stɑ̃tɛ̃ fʁɑ̃swa ʃasəbœf də la ʒiʁodɛ]] (3 February 1757 – 25 April 1820), known by his pen name Volney, was a French philosopher, historian, orientalist, and politician. As a young man, he was a regular at the salon of Madame Helvétius in Paris, where he met Benjamin Franklin during the American Revolutionary War. He first came to prominence in 1787 with the publication of an account of his travels through Ottoman Egypt and Syria. During the French Revolution, he represented the Anjou Third Estate at the Estates General of 1789 before serving in the National Constituent Assembly. In 1791, he published The Ruins, a philosophical meditation on the rise and fall of civilizations that envisioned a future "General Assembly of Nations". He was also among the earliest proponents of the Christ myth theory. Imprisoned during the Reign of Terror, Volney travelled to the United States in 1795. A friend of Thomas Jefferson, he aroused the suspicions of President John Adams, who regarded him as a foreign agent, prompting his departure from the country in 1798. After returning to France, he supported the Coup of 18 Brumaire and was…