COURIER

courier, paul louis (1773-1825), french hellenist and political writer, was born in paris on the 4th of january 1773. brought up on his father's estate of mere in touraine, he conceived a bitter aversion for the nobility, which seemed to strengthen with time. he would never take the name "de mere," to which he was entitled, lest he should be thought a nobleman. at the age of fifteen he was sent to paris to complete his education; his father's teaching had already inspired him with a passionate devotion to greek literature, and although he showed considerable mathematical ability, he continued to devote all his leisure to the classics. he entered the school of artillery at chalons, however, and immediately on receiving his appointment as sub-lieutenant in september 1793 he joined the army of the rhine. he served in various campaigns of the revolutionary wars, especially in those of italy in 1798-99 and 1806-7, and in the german campaign of 1809. he became _chef d'escadron_ in 1803. he made his first appearance as an author in 1802, when he contributed to the _magasin encyclopedique_ a critique on johannes schweighauser's edition of athenaeus. in the following year appeared his _eloge d'helene_, a free imitation rather than a translation from isocrates, which he had sketched in 1798. courier had given up his commission in the autumn of 1808, but the general enthusiasm in paris over the preparations for the new campaign affected him, and he attached himself to the staff of a general of artillery. but he was horror-struck by the carnage at wagram (1809), refusing from that time to believe that there was any art in war. he hastily quitted vienna, escaping the formal charge of desertion because his new appointment had not been confirmed. the savage independence of his nature rendered subordination intolerable to him; he had been three times disgraced for absenting himself without leave, and his superiors resented his satirical humour. after leaving the army he went to florence, and was fortunate enough to discover in the laurentian library a complete manuscript of longus's _daphnis and chloe_, an edition of which he published in 1810. in consequence of a misadventure--blotting the manuscript--he was involved in a quarrel with the librarian, and was compelled by the government to leave tuscany. he retired to his estate at veretz (indre-et-loire), but frequently visited paris, and divided his attention between literature and his farm. after the second restoration of the bourbons the career of courier as political pamphleteer began. he had before this time waged war against local wrongs in his own district, and had been the adviser and helpful friend of his neighbours. he now made himself by his letters and pamphlets one of the most dreaded opponents of the government of the restoration. the first of these was his _petition aux deux chambres_ (1816), exposing the sufferings of the peasantry under the royalist reaction. in 1817 he was a candidate for a vacant seat in the institute; and failing, he took his revenge by publishing a bitter _lettre a messieurs de l'academie des inscriptions et belles-lettres_ (1819). this was followed (1819-1820) by a series of political letters of extraordinary power published in _le censeur europeen_. he advocated a liberal monarchy, at the head of which he doubtless wished to see louis philippe. the proposal, in 1821, to purchase the estate of chambord for the duke of bordeaux called forth from courier the _simple discours de paul louis, vigneron de la chavonniere_, one of his best pieces. for this he was tried and condemned to suffer a short imprisonment and to pay a fine. before he went to prison he published a _compte rendu_ of his trial, which had a still larger circulation than the discours itself. in 1823 appeared the _livret de paul louis_, the _gazette de village_, followed in 1824 by his famous _pamphlet des pamphlets_, called by his biographer, armand carrel, his swan-song. courier published in 1807 his translation from xenophon, _du commandement de la cavalerie et de l'equitation_, and had a share in editing the _collections des romans grecs_. he also projected a translation of herodotus, and published a specimen, in which he attempted to imitate archaic french; but he did not live to carry out this plan. in the autumn of 1825, on a sunday afternoon (august 18th), courier was found shot in a wood near his house. the murderers, who were servants of his own, remained undiscovered for five years. the writings of courier, dealing with the facts and events of his own time, are valuable sources of information as to the condition of france before, during, and after the revolution. sainte-beuve finds in courier's own words, "peu de matiere et beaucoup d'art," the secret and device of his talent, which gives his writings a value independent of the somewhat ephemeral subject-matter. a _collection complete des pamphlets politiques et opuscules litteraires de p. l. courier_ appeared in 1826. see editions of his _oeuvres_ (1848), with an admirable biography by armand carrel, which is reproduced in a later edition, with a supplementary criticism by f. sarcey (1876-1877); also three notices by sainte-beuve in the _causeries du lundi_ and the _nouveaux lundis_. courier (from the o. fr. _courier_, modern _courrier_, from lat. _currere_, to run), properly a running messenger, who carried despatches and letters; a system of couriers, mounted or on foot, formed the beginnings of the modern post-office (see post, and postal service). the despatches which pass between the foreign office and its representatives abroad, and which cannot be entrusted to the postal service or the telegraph, are carried by special couriers, styled, in the british service, king's messengers. "courier," more particularly, is applied to a travelling attendant, whose duties are to arrange for the carrying of the luggage, obtaining of passports, settling of hotel accommodation, and generally to look to the comfort and facility of travel. the name "courier" and the similar word "_courant_" (ital. _coranto_) have often been used as the title of a newspaper or periodical (see newspapers); the _courier_, founded in 1792, was for some time the leading london journal.