PERRAUD (Adolphe Louis Albert) - Lot 143

PERRAUD (Adolphe Louis Albert) Lyon, February 7, 1828 - Autun, February 10, 1906. Oratorian, bishop of Autun, cardinal and French historian. Important L.A.S., Saint-Germain-du-Bois (Saône-et-Loire), on pastoral visit, August 28, 1882; 5 pages in-8. A very interesting letter of a personal, ecclesiastical and political nature, in which Cardinal Perraud discusses at length the situation of his correspondent, administrative and judicial circles, and academic intrigues surrounding the Académie française. Perraud first recalls an earlier plan to meet in Annecy and Rome, prevented by "some obstacle of health or business", before going on to talk about his own trips to Rome and audiences with the Holy See. In particular, he mentions "Mr. J. Ferry, our minister at the time", who, like him, came to present the Pope with a report on their "pastoral tours". The letter then develops a remarkable reflection on the administrative and ideological upheavals of the Third Republic. Perraud worries about "plans for the disorganization of the magistracy" and criticizes the "strange liberals" spreading "a despotism whose odious character can only be fully appreciated when one sees [...] the details of national life in the smallest localities". The most substantial passage concerns the elections to the Académie française. Perraud gives a detailed account of the maneuvers surrounding Mgr Dupanloup's seat, the pressure exerted on Abbé Henri Perreyve's candidacy and then that of Auguste Barbier, as well as Renan's interventions. He evokes the compromises and rivalries of the academic world with finesse: "This election, made at such a solemn moment, seemed to me a kind of indication from Providence". Taken as a whole, this is a first-rate account of the relationship between liberal Catholicism, intellectual life and republican institutions in the 1880s. A very fine letter, dense and full of political, religious and literary considerations. Very good condition. Usual folds. Beautiful, legible ink.