person
Ernest Renan
Renan
French philosopher and historian (1823-1892), author of the controversial rationalist "Life of Jesus"; invoked here as a byword for radical, brilliant thought, mockingly applied to a minor provincial clerk.
Reading notes
- A Story Hard to Give a Title To §2 Renan
Ernest Renan (1823-1892), French philosopher and historian known for critical, rationalist works such as the "Life of Jesus"; invoked here as a byword for a great freethinking intellect, ironically applied to a minor clerk.