Antoine Fabre d'Olivet

French author, poet and composer

Antoine Fabre d'Olivet (8 December 1767, Ganges, Hérault – 25 March 1825, Paris) was a French author, poet and composer whose Biblical and philosophical hermeneutics influenced many occultists, such as Eliphas Lévi, Gérard Encausse ("Papus") and Édouard Schuré. His best known works are on the research of the Hebrew language and the history of the human race entitled (1) The Hebraic Tongue Restored: And the True Meaning of the Hebrew Words Re Established and Proved by their Radical Analysis, and (2) Hermeneutic Interpretation of the Origin of the Social State of Man and of the Destiny of the Adamic Race. Other works of renown are on the sacred art of music entitled Music Explained as Science and as Art and Considered in its Analog Relationship with Religious Mysteries, Ancient Mythology and the History of the Earth, and a translation and commentary of Pythagoras's thirty six Golden Verses. His interest in Pythagoras and the resulting works started a revival of Neo Pythagoreanism that would later influence many occultists and new age spiritualists. He attempted an alternative interpretation of Genesis, based on what he considered to be connections between the Hebrew alphabet and hieroglyphs. The discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the subsequent decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs that followed would prove much of this particular work technically mistaken. He was declared a non person by Napoleon I. An interesting story involves his supposed healing of a deaf boy, Rodolphe Grivel, of his hearing impairment, and then having Napoleon officially declare that he is never again to heal another person of deafness. He indicates that he kept the letter of notice out of amusement. Outside of esotericism, he also invented the poetic measure of eumolpique. He had a discussion with Lord Byron over the British poet's publishing of a play, Cain, in which he said that since both of them were raised as reformed Protestants, he wrote: "We can understand one another perfectly; and if I didn't have anything to reprove you as a heretic, you would not have to fear my orthodoxy". D'Olivet thought that because Lord Byron did not use the original Hebraic version of the text of Sacred Scripture, but instead a misleading English translation in the play, is therefore leading others towards falsity and away from truth.

Born Antoine Fabre on 8 December 1767, but later changing his name to Fabre d'Olivet by dropping the name 'Antoine' and adding his mother's name d'Olivet, he grew up in the Languedoc province in the south of France. When he reached the age of eleven or twelve he was sent to Paris by his father, a businessman in the international silk industry, who wished his son to receive a good education and assist the family business. He spent five years in the French capital, where he learned Latin, Greek and English. Having completed his studies, in 1786 he travelled as a salesman for his father's company, learning German in the process, but with little commercial success. During his travels he met a young woman, Chrisna; the effects of the encounter on him were long lasting and later inspired the first of his songs to be published.

Antoine Fabre returned to Paris in 1789, ostensibly for purposes related to his father's firm. However, Paris was about to undergo revolutionary upheaval later in the year and he became actively involved in political pursuits; recalling the period later in his life, he wrote that he had written speeches designed to appeal to moderate Parisians. Although his political stance during this era would later cause him problems, he survived both the French Revolution, and the subsequent period of terror it unleashed, unscathed. Following this period of political upheaval, he turned his attention to his artistic interests. These included both music and literature, and during this time he wrote for the stage – both drama and the libretto for the Paris Opéra's 1794 work Toulon soumis – as well as poetry, fiction and journalism. It was at this time that he changed his name to Fabre d'Olivet. D'Olivet's father fared less well after the Revolution; his silk business failed and consequently his son's own prospects of financial independence were ended. As a result, Fabre d'Olivet sought employment and in 1799 secured work in the French War Ministry. In his autobiography, Mes souvenirs (published posthumously), he later admitted that he worked on a number of personal literary projects instead of fulfilling his official duties. The year after joining the War Ministry, he fell in love with Julie Marcel but decided against marrying her. Her death in 1802, after they had parted, later influenced his philosophical thinking; he claimed that she had appeared to him on several occasions, and he credited her with his theories concerning both the soul's immortality and Providence.