ABSTRACT

The thought of Lamennais is invariably treated in terms of its ascent to and fall from the peak of Catholic ultra-montanism in the nineteenth century. The frequent neglect of the later, social, phase of Lamennais' life is the consequence of his brilliant early relationship with the Catholic Church and of his dramatic rise and fall in ecclesiastical eminence. The significance of Lamennais like the significance of such men as Tocqueville, Taine, and LePlay must be seen against the theory of power that the Enlightenment had given pen to and the Revolution had made effective. The cause for which Lamennais fought was at bottom never the monarchy or papacy as such; it was the regeneration of society. Lamennais' opposition to the omnicompetent state must not be confused with the ordinary laissez-faire doctrines which had developed out of the eighteenth century's faith in the individual and the natural order. Pluralism, as Lamennais saw vividly, is both fact and ideal.