973 



FOUHIER, CHARLES. 



FOURIER, CHARLES. 



974 



agent, and only known to the society ia which he moved as a man 

 remarkable for his learning in geography aud general statistics. In 

 conversation with his intimate acquaintance he had mentioned many 

 things connected with his new discovery, and they at length induced 

 him to commence publishing before he had completed all the 

 secondary combinations of detail. To satisfy their curiosity he issued 

 a Prospectus, in which his general .views were broadly stated, but 

 without au attempt at demonstration. This Prospectus was a small 

 octavo volume, published in 1808, at Leipzig, according to the title- 

 page, but really as it would seem printed and published at Lyon, in 

 order to avoid the censorship of N apoleon. 



This Prospectus was intended to announce the publication of his 

 new discovery in a eeries of eight octavo volumes, to be published by 

 subscription, and commenced as soon as a sufficient number of 

 subscribers had sent in thsir names. The work was entitled 

 ' Theorie des Quatre Mouvemens et des Destinies Ge'ne'rales.' It is 

 the strangest, most mystical, and most startling of all his works, 

 though merely given as a general announcement of his theory. Sur- 

 prise and wonder were the only effects which it produced on those 

 who read it and the few public writers who reviewed it. After being 

 noticed by a few persons in the neighbourhood of Lyon, it sunk into 

 oblivion, without a dozen copies being sold. 



After publishing this voluminous 'Prospectus ' of his theory of the 

 cardinal movements, Fourier remained fourteen years without pub- 

 lishing the continuation of his theory. He quietly prosecuted his 

 studies in the solitude of private life, interrupted only by his mer- 

 cantile pursuits, he still continuing in his mercantile position in 

 Lyon. Little is known of his habits or his movements from 1808 to 

 1815, except a few incidents mentioned by himself. In one of his 

 unpublished manuscripts, he says, in reference to the long interval 

 which elapsed between his first arid second publications, " It was well 

 that I deferred the publication of my theory, for it was not until 

 1814 that I discovered the principal laws of equilibrium in combined 

 associative harmony, aud other branches of transcendental theory. It 

 was not until the year 1819 that I discovered the possibility of 

 organising associative unity without disturbing the present laws 

 of marriage. 



" My commercial duties had always prevented me from giving that 

 undivided attention to my discovery which iU infinite details required. 

 The stagnation however in which mercantile affairs were plunged by 

 the political events of 1814 and 1815 induced me to retire from 

 business and devote my time exclusively to study. In 1816 I com- 

 menced the preparation of materials for publication, but the problems 

 to be solved were so diversified and numerous the subject so 

 immense that I could not succeed in bringing them within the 

 limit* of an ordinary book. Twelve months were lost in trying to 

 condense the matter and improve the plan of distribution. At 

 length I fixed upon a plan of partial publication, which contained 

 about one-quarter of the whole theory, but sufficient for all purposes 

 of practical association on a simple scale." 



During the Hundred Days of Napoleon's reign Fourier was placed 

 at the head of the statistical department of the prefecture or pro- 

 vincial government of Lyon, by his namesake the Count Fourier, but 

 after the second restoration of the Bourbon family everything was 

 changed again, and Fourier retired from Lyon to Tallissieu in the 

 autumn of that year, to pass the winter in his sister's family. From 

 Talliasieu he went to Belley to reside with his other sister, and there 

 he remained from 1815 until 1821, occupied exclusively in preparing 

 the manuscript of his future publication. 



Hitherto no one had seriously thought of Fourier's ideas or his 

 studies, but in 1814 a copy of his first volume fell accidentally into 

 the hands of M. Just Muiron, of Besaufon, a gentleman of studious 

 habits aud high standing in the provincial administration of Franche- 

 Comtc, and also proprietor of its leading provincial newspaper, 

 ' L'Impartial de Besant;on.' 



Tho views of Fourier's theory announced in that volume made a 

 deep impression on Muiron, who wrote immediately to the author to 

 obtain more information on the subject. This led to a long corre- 

 spondence and an interview, which tended to confirm Muirou in the 

 high opinion he had first conceived of both the author and his 

 theory. After a due consideration of the principles and an intimate- 

 acquaintance with Fourier, from whom he gathered ample information 

 on all points of doctrine, Muiron became the intimate friend and the 

 first avowed disciple of Fourier. He became more anxious than 

 Fourier himself to have the theory completely published, and under- 

 took to furnish a pait of the funds for the expense of printing, as 

 eoon as the manuscripts could be made ready for the press. Fourier 

 sold a part of hi* little property to defray the rest of the expense of 

 printing. Tho correspondence between Muiron and Fourier became 

 frequent. It is an interesting history of Fomier's opinions and 

 pursuits during the period of his studious retirement from 1816 to 

 1821. Tne whole of Fourier's theory was written during this period, 

 though not more than half of it has yet been published. The unpub- 

 lished manuscripts treat however chiefly on cosmogony, psychology, 

 analogy, aud other very abstruse subjects, which are treated in a 

 manner not at all likely to attract the general reader. 



In one of hia letter < to Muiron be says, " I have positively failed, 

 after fourteen years' repeated application, to solve the problem of 



Passional Diffraction." This, in the language of Fourier, is the 

 principle of prophetic inspiration. It is treated by him as au abstract 

 question, but as the object of this article ia to explain some of the 

 opinions of Fourier from hia own point of view, we may give it ouo 

 short paragraph of explanation. 



If we compare the light of Revelation from tho Spiritual Sun o 

 the universe on the eye of the mind, with the light of the natural 

 sun on the eye of the body, we shall have the exact analogy between 

 the two, in harmony with the language of Fourier. There are three 

 modes of action in the transmission of natural light : Refraction, 

 Reflection, and Diffraction. In the sphere of Revelation, or tho 

 transmission of spiritual light to the mind of man, Nature is the 

 great fact of undoubted divine origin, which rejlects to the oye of the 

 inquiring mind the law of God, which it reveals in its stupendous 

 harmony. The mind of man itself which is of divine origin also, ia 

 the power which refracts or divides the rays of mental light into their 

 magic beauty of variety and colour. Diffraction is a mixed mode of 

 action between refraction and reflection ; and prophetic inspiration ia 

 a mixed mode of mental revelation, written in words similar to human 

 verbalism, and reflecting divine wisdom just like Nature, but partici- 

 pating in the characteristic peculiarities of both; inasmuch, as it 

 is partly reflective without explanation, like Nature; and partly 

 refractive aud explanatory, like the word of man. It is that mental 

 or "passional diffraction," which Fourier could not find until ho 

 came to look for it in sacred prophecy, which he did before he 

 published his ' New Industrial World ' in 1829. 



In April 1821, Fourier, having prepared his manuscript for the 

 press, went to reside at Besancon to superintend the printing of hia 

 work, which was distributed in nine volumes under the following 

 heads : 



1. ' The Abstract Principles of Passional Attraction, and their 

 Partial Application to Industrial Association.' 2. ' Familiar Synthesis 

 of the Principles of Attraction, and their Equilibrium in Practice.' 

 3. ' The Analysis of Man's Physical, Moral, aud Mental Nature, indi- 

 vidually and collectively, with regard to Individual Variety and 

 Universal Unity.' 4. ' Methodical Synthesis, and Transcendental 

 Theory.' 5. ' Commercial Duplicity, and Ruinous Competition.' 

 6. ' The False Development of Human Nature, and a regular Analysis 

 and Synthesis of False Development in Universal Nature as an excep- 

 tion to Universal Harmony.' 7. ' Universal Analogy aud Illustrations 

 of Cosmogony." 8. ' The Scientific Theory of the Immortality of the 

 Soul." 9. ' Dictionary of Contents, References, &c. &c. of the whole 

 Work.' 



Each of these volumes contains between five and six hundred closely 

 printed large octavo pages. The first and second only, with a few 

 extracts from the others, were printed and published in 1822, under 

 the title of ' A Treatise on Domestic and Agricultural Association ; ' 

 a second edition with another title was published in 1841 ; two 

 volumes more were published in 1850 under the title of ' Passions 

 of the Human Soul.' The other volumes, containing some of the more 

 transcendental speculative part of the theory, still remain in manu- 

 script The title of the whole work, we are informed by Fourier, 

 should be ' Theory of Universal Unity.' 



Fourier professes to teach, in the volumes published by himself, the 

 science of associative unity, by which the produce of social industry 

 may be increased from three to sevenfold, and the economy of general 

 and individual expenditure improved tenfold ; so that the practical 

 advantages of association to all classes of society would be as thirty 

 to one, and more in many instances, compared with the present state 

 of things. To master his whole theory of universal science would, we 

 are told, require more time and mental application than the study of 

 all the branches of mathematics. 



In November 1822, Fourier's two large volumes were completed, 

 and he went to Paris to have them advertised, reviewed, and sold if 

 possible. Here he was disappointed. Few of the reviewers noticed 

 his work, and those who mentioned it said little more than that it was 

 a voluminous and abstruss production. After waitiug twelve mouths 

 to have his book reviewed, without obtaining auy notice from the press 

 beyond the mere mention of " voluminous abstruseness," Fourier pub- 

 lished a summary of some one hundred and fifty pages, in the hopo 

 of obtaining a more favourable aud detailed review. Hera again ho 

 was disappointed. He sent his work to many of the leading statesmen 

 of tho time, but those who were polite enough to acknowledge the 

 present, alleged their multifarious occupations a? a reason for not 

 having time to road the book. Unable to continue the expensive 

 residence of Paris, Fourier returned to Lyon in the month of March 

 1825, where his necessities compelled him to accept the office of cashier 

 in a commercial house, at a salary of 1200f. a year. In the meantime 

 his book had been read by some inquiring minds in various parts of 

 the country, and a few influential persons became professed disciples. 

 In the summer of 1825, M. Grea, a gentleman of large property, in- 

 vited Fourier to his country residence at the chateau of Rotalier, near 

 Lons-le-Saulnier, where he was anxious that Fourier should remain 

 and write a more elementary work for general readers. Fourier com- 

 plied with the request, and commenced his compendium, but did not 

 then complete it. He returned to Lyon for a short time, aud in 

 January 1826 to Paris, where ho remained nearly two years. In July 

 1828 ho went again to Besa^on to print the compendium to hiatheoryi 



