Politician and philosopher, born at Sompuis; called to the Paris bar at 20; supported the Revolution, but refused to follow the Jacobins, and during the Reign of Terror sought shelter in his native town; was elected to the Council of the Five Hundred in 1797, retired in 1804, and betook himself to philosophic studies; became professor of Philosophy in Paris 1811, and exercised great influence; re-entered political life in 1815, and was actively engaged in administrative work till his retirement in 1842; was all through his life a doctrinaire and rather unpractical (1763-1842).