13 mars 1882
19 avril 1962
Né en 1882 à Cérilly (Allier), dans la maison de son grand-père maternel, Eugène Vachée, notaire, Jacques Chevalier est le fils de Georges Chevalier (18 septembre 1854 – 22 décembre 1938) qui deviendra entre 1914 et 1918 un des collaborateurs du maréchal Joffre et du maréchal Pétain en tant que directeur du génie au ministère de la Guerre. En 1881, Georges Chevalier épouse Madeleine Vachée, originaire de Cérilly, dont il aura quatre enfants Jacques l’aîné, Marie-Louise (née en 1883), André (né en 1886) et Germaine (née en 1897).
Jacques Chevalier fait ses études dans les villes de garnison de son père, successivement à Clermont-Ferrand, Châlons-sur-Marne, au lycée Hoche (où il obtient le premier prix de version latine au concours général), puis au lycée Henri IV à Paris. En 1900, à 18 ans, il est entre à l’École normale supérieure, et réussit trois ans plus tard l’agrégation de philosophie en 1903.
Il passe ensuite deux années à l’université d’Oxford qui seront déterminantes pour la suite de sa carrière. Il se lie d’amitié avec le fils du vieux Lord Halifax, Edouard, conservateur, qui deviendra ministre des Affaires étrangères de 1938 à 1940. Il engage surtout des recherches de science religieuse ainsi que des travaux de cristallographie sous la direction du professeur Henry Alexander Myers. A l’issue de ce séjour, il parle parfaitement l’anglais et commence à s’engager pour la réunion des églises catholique et anglicane.
De retour d’Angleterre, de 1905 à 1908, il devient à Paris pensionnaire de la fondation Thiers qui permet aux étudiants brillants de poursuivre leurs études. Il commence une thèse sur les réveils religieux au Pays de Galles à partir de documents rassemblés à Oxford. Il bénéficie d’une année sabbatique en 1908-1909 pour terminer sa thèse tout en demeurant à Cérilly auprès de sa grand-mère. C’est de cette période que se développe sa connaissance intérieure et quasi mystique de la forêt de Tronçais.
En 1909, Jacques Chevalier est nommé professeur de philosophie au lycée de Châteauroux. En juillet 1912, juste avant d’être nommé professeur à Lyon, il épouse, à Châteauroux, Marie Mercier, fille du docteur Louis Mercier. De cette union naîtront quatre enfants : François l’aîné (1913), Thérèse (1915), André (1916) et Hélène (1924). À son épouse Marie il doit l’équilibre de sa vie ; contre vents et marées, cette femme le soutiendra et l’apaisera.
1913 est l’année de l’achèvement de sa première thèse. Elle porte sur les réveils religieux en Pays de Galles, mais est refusée par Ferdinand Lot, archiviste paléographe et médiéviste très influent à la Sorbonne ; elle ne sera publiée qu’en 1923, dans les Annales de l’Université de Lyon. Jacques Chevalier soutient sa seconde thèse sur « La notion du nécessaire chez Aristote et ses prédécesseurs, particulièrement chez Platon », et sur « Le dialogue pseudo-platonicien Antiochus sur la mort et l’immortalité de l’âme », en décembre 1914 et reçoit la mention très honorable à l’unanimité et avec les félicitations du jury. Il devient ainsi docteur ès lettres.
C’est à Montluçon qu’il apprend, le 1er août 1914, l’ordre de mobilisation générale. Réformé, il ne part pour le front qu’en 1917, comme interprète auprès de l’armée britannique. Au lendemain de la guerre, la famille de Jacques Chevalier a été rudement éprouvée : sa sœur Marie-Louise est entrée au carmel de Paray-le-Monial, le 3 juin 1914 ; sa grand-mère Mercier disparaît en avril 1914 ; enfin André, le frère de son père le général Chevalier, tombe au combat, à La Croix-en-Champagne (Marne), en octobre 1915.
Au lendemain de la guerre, le 31 juillet 1919, Jacques Chevalier est nommé chargé de cours à la Faculté des lettres de Grenoble. Dès octobre 1919, il est promu professeur de philosophie à la Faculté de lettres de l’Université de Grenoble, puis doyen en 1931, et donne très à la chaire qu’il occupe une dimension extraordinaire.
Jacques Chevalier est un grand voyageur, l’Angleterre et l’Espagne étant ses terres de prédilection. Son premier voyage en Angleterre date de 1903 et il y retournera souvent. L’Espagne, il la découvre d’abord à partir des collections de peinture du musée du Louvre. Son oncle Eugène l’emmène au musée une première fois en avril 1898. Il note ainsi son admiration pour le portrait de Philippe IV de Velasquez, mais surtout pour L’Assomption de Murillo.
Son premier voyage en Espagne date de 1910 : accompagné par Léon Husson et Louis Garrone, il rencontre Miguel de Unamuno, Juan Zaragüeta et Juan Dominguez-Berrueta, avec lequel il écrira un livre sur Sainte Thérèse et la vie mystique , et voit dans ce pays « la terre-née de la spiritualité. » . Il voyage aussi en Italie en 1933 et est invité dans de nombreux pays d’Europe avant 1940, en Suède, aux Pays-Bas et en Bulgarie. De novembre 1937 date son voyage en Espagne qui suscitera tant de polémiques et préfigurera les crises de la période de Vichy. Soupçonné d’avoir été chargé par le général Franco de réorganiser l’enseignement en Espagne, en dehors de toute mission officielle, il est sommé, à son retour, d’aller s’expliquer au ministre de l’Éducation nationale Jean Zay.
En 1940 son œuvre philosophique, qui découle de son enseignement, est déjà magistrale :Les maîtres de la pensée française,Descartes,Pascal,Bergson,La vie de l’esprit,L’idéal et le réel,Leçons de philosophiefont partie de ses principales publications . Il expose avec clarté le rapport des grands philosophes français avec la science, au sein d'une métaphysique de l'esprit. Sa pensée personnelle, inspirée de Platon et de saint Augustin, est concentrée sur l'affirmation de la réalité des Idées.
1940 marque le début de la seconde partie de la vie de Jacques Chevalier. Le drame de sa vie, de sa famille et d’un grand nombre de ses amis se noue lorsqu’en septembre 1940 il est appelé par le maréchal Pétain pour entrer dans le gouvernement. Pétain le connaissait par son père, le général Chevalier, de même qu’il savait son amitié pour Lord Halifax, alors ministre des Affaires étrangères de Grande-Bretagne. Du 13 septembre au 13 décembre 1940, Jacques Chevalier est secrétaire général à l’Éducation nationale et à la Jeunesse, avec Claude Blanc comme directeur de cabinet, puis, jusqu’au 26 février 1941, secrétaire d’État à l’Éducation nationale et à la Jeunesse. C’est de cette courte période, en décembre 1940, que datent les négociations qu'il mène secrètement avec Lord Halifax et qu'il appellera abusivement « accords secrets franco-britanniques ». Sa politique scolaire est dominée par l’entrée de l’enseignement religieux dans les écoles. Les Allemands obtiennent son départ, prenant pour prétexte ses relations avec les Anglais et de l’hommage qu’il rend à Henri Bergson lors de ses obsèques. À partir du 26 février 1941, il est secrétaire d’État à la Famille, poste dont il démissionne le 14 août 1941. Les raisons de sa démission restent mystérieuses, mais à l'évidence Jacques Chevalier souffre alors de problèmes de santé morale et physique, sans parvenir à se remettre de la disparition de sa fille aînée Thérèse. Après avoir quitté le gouvernement de Vichy, il reprend ses fonctions de professeur et de doyen à Grenoble.
Le Bourbonnais et les alentours immédiats de Cérilly et de Saint-Amand sont le théâtre d'affrontements sanglants opposant le maquis et le reste de la population attentiste ou collaborationniste. Au début de l'année 1944, Jacques Chevalier se dresse contre ces violences, allant jusqu'à réclamer au maréchal Pétain de renforcer les contrôles policiers.
Cette attitude lui vaut d'être arrêté et détenu par les hommes du maquis de la forêt de Tronçais en 1944. Transféré à la prison de Fresnes, où il est préventivement interné durant neuf mois, il passe devant la Haute Cour de justice, où à une voix près il échappe à la peine de mort : le 11 mars 1946, il est condamné à la peine de vingt ans de travaux forcés, frappé de l'indignité à vie et spolié de la moitié de ses biens présents et à venir. Qui aurait pu imaginer, dix ans auparavant, alors qu'il était au sommet de sa carrière universitaire, un sort si tragique et surtout si déshonorant ? Le 12 mars 1947, il bénéficie de l'amnistie prononcée par le président Auriol qui le libère et le relève de toutes ses peines.
Dans l'immédiat après guerre, il mène une existence cachée, n'allant à Cérilly qu'avec d'infinies précautions pour ne pas risquer d'être reconnu, vivant à Paris ou à Versailles chez des amis ou dans des communautés religieuses. Cette période est féconde et voit la publication de l'Histoire de la penséeen quatre volumes, ouvrages de référence pour un grand nombre d'étudiants en philosophie. Le 19 avril 1961, son épouse Marie s'éteint, et cette disparition le rend fou de désespoir. Il meurt à son tour le 19 avril 1962, ayant cessé seulement dix jours auparavant de tenir son carnet.
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