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GUIZOT
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GUIZOT, François Pierre Guillaume (1787 – 1874)

was a philosopher and historian. In 1812, he became professor at the Sorbonne, was Deputy from 1830 to 1848, and held several ministerial positions between 1830 and 1848. He was generally disliked for his protestant strictness. Personally incorruptible, he ruled, according to Victor Hugo, by corruption. He was member of the Doctrinaires and worked closely with the Thiers and de Broglie governments between 1832 and 1836. From 1840 to 1848, he was Foreign Secretary and was exiled to England together with Louis-Philippe. In 1849, he wrote “De la Démocratie en France”. Guizot was also Minister of Education. Daumier portrayed him always in a pensive pose, never in a cynical way. (See also DR148). There exists also a sculpture by Daumier depicting Guizot (see Gobin nr. 25, Daumier Register DR9617) with the title "L'ennuyeux", meaning the bored. In most caricatures (also by other artists than Daumier) he was shown austere and respectable and, like in this print, sitting on a "bench of sorrow".

Guizot's advice to his fellow citizens was: "Enrich yourselves!" This political theme during the July Monarchy influenced an entire generation of citizens. Personal profit became to be more important than the well being of the community. Alexis de Tocqueville compared the regime to a public stock company whose only interest was based in maintaining shareholder value. Historically, this proclamation seems to have been distorted and taken out of context by Guizot’s political adversaries. It may quite well be possible that he proclaimed the following: "Enrich yourselves through work and thrift, and you will have the right to vote". The exact, original text reads as follows: "A présent, usez de ces droits; fondez votre gouvernement, affermissez vos institutions, éclairez-vous, enrichissez-vous, améliorez la condition morale et matérielle de notre France: voilà les vraies innovations."

The death of Guizot’s father, a Girondist, under the guillotine influenced the son for the rest of his life. After having followed a career as a Calvinistic, protestant historian, translating “Rise and fall of the Roman Empire”, he became a liberal politician. He was appointed professor for history at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1812, and held numerous positions as minister between 1830 and 1840. It was he who signed responsible for the compulsory establishment of public schooling all over France. Victor Hugo once created an oxymoron when he spoke of Guizot as "an honest woman running a brothel”.


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