“I don’t see Renan going to preach a crusade in Syria or anywhere else,” said Littré, who had seemed to be dreaming.[73] Two years later, on the 23rd of June, 1863, after Juliette had separated from her first husband and was living with her parents at Chauny, appeared Renan’s _Vie de Jésus_. From the point of view of its influence on free thought Dr. Lambert considered the publication of this book the most significant event of the latter half of the nineteenth century. Juliette received twenty letters from her friends, some extolling, others attacking the book. Mme. de Pierreclos thought it abominable and pernicious, all the more because of the perfection of its style. Ronchaud wrote admiring its poetry. “Even those,” he added, “who disbelieve in the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth must henceforth worship him.” “Renan,” said Dr. Lambert, “was like myself, a simple-minded, sincere and pious student of theology. But when he found the sacred text distorted by those to whom it had been entrusted, he lost faith as I did.” Dr. Lambert on hearing that Renan had been deprived of his chair of Hebrew at the Collège de France, exclaimed, “You see, imperialism, by treating Renan as an enemy, is pointing him out to us as our friend.”[74] FOOTNOTES: [53] _Souvenirs_, II. 83. _Idées Anti-Proudhoniennes_ was signed “Juliette Lamessine.” [54] See Daniel Stern, _Mes Souvenirs_, 311. [55] Daniel Stern, _Histoire de la Révolution de 1848_, 2 vols., Paris, Charpentier, 1862. [56] Daniel Stern, _Mes Souvenirs_, 346. [57] _Ibid._, 349. [58] He had married Blandine, daughter of Mme. d’Agoult and Liszt. [59] Mme. Adam, _Souvenirs_, I. 108-9, _“Elle prenait la peine de faire d’une petite provinciale une dame.”_ [60] See _post_, 209. [61] Born in 1801, Littré had studied and qualified as a doctor of medicine, though he never practised his profession. He, like most of Mme. d’Agoult’s friends, was a “man of 1848.” Immediately after the Revolution he served for a few months as unpaid municipal councillor of Paris. But, disillusioned after the violent suppression of the July rising, he had retired from office and since then had lived in retirement. [62] Hippolyte Carnot, born in 1801, had accompanied his father into exile. After the elder Carnot’s death, Hippolyte returned to France. There he became one of the leaders of the Saint-Simonian group of philosophers, see _post_, 86-90. During the Revolution of 1848 Carnot was Minister of Education. Like Littré, disillusioned by the reactionary movement which followed the July insurrection, he resigned. After the _coup d’état_ of December 1851, he went into voluntary exile. During his absence he was elected member of the Corps Legislatif. But although he returned to France, he refused to take the oath to the Empire, thus forfeiting his seat. Since then he too had lived in retirement. [63] _Le Disciple_, Preface. [64] _Mémoires de la Comtesse Diane_, 146-7. [65] _Journal des Goncourt_, VI. 184.