6533b827fe1ef96bd1285812
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Eveiller et réguler un prince et un peuple nouveaux : la « Constitution morale » des Plutarques brésiliens
Oscar Ferreirasubject
[SHS.DROIT]Humanities and Social Sciences/Law[SHS.DROIT] Humanities and Social Sciences/Lawconstitution moralePaideiaéducation politiqueLiberté de la pressedescription
After the independence proclaimed in 1822, Brazil sought to build an identity that would allow it to be among the great nations of the world. To this end, a whole educational literature was created, supporting the numerous newspapers that used the freedom of the press, acquired in 1821, to perfect the political education of their compatriots, while at the same time inviting the very young Emperor D. Pedro (born in 1798) to become the model for his people for centuries to come. All then had faith in the influence of the public virtues of the prince on the private and civic virtues of the people; all feared the inadequacy between the Political Constitution, granted in 1824, and the real constitution of the country: would the people, newly formed and therefore immature, not risk lowering the Political Constitution to the rank of a nominal constitution or letting its rulers act badly? In this sense, the fathers of independence, following in the footsteps of José da Silva Lisboa, tended above all to produce works dealing with what they called the "moral constitution" (A Constituição moral e deveres do cidadão, 1824), willingly placing the emphasis on constitutional education and the exaltation of the virtues of the elites and citizens. Fascinated by ancient references, they would soon no longer hesitate to produce works imitating Antiquity, in order to resurrect the Greek paideia among them: witness the resounding success of João Manuel Pereira Silva's work, Plutarco brasileiro ("Brazilian Plutarch"), in 1847. Brazil's literary and political elites thus hoped to create and consolidate a distinctly Brazilian civilization, culture and literature that would make it a permanent part of history. But, in doing so, they also had to set themselves up as Argos Panoptès: these educators of the people and princes willingly transformed themselves into ever alert shepherds, destined to regulate social and political activity in all its forms.
year | journal | country | edition | language |
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2020-01-01 |