After his death, Louis Veuillot’s descendants found a series of short studies on the men of his time among his papers. Veuillot had never intended these for publication. The subject of one such profile was Eugène Taconet, the owner of l’Univers until its suppression in 1860. He had saved the paper from financial ruin several times. Veuillot’s description offers rare and interesting insights into Taconet’s attitudes and is reproduced below:
“In him, the Christian and the merchant are at continual war. The Christian resolutely risks the merchant’s entire fortune; the merchant perpetually tries to save a few pennies from the large sums the Christian has committed.
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“His heart is generous and large; his mind is weak, narrow, and timid. He understands everything with the heart; his mind never understands anything. His admirable heart is humble; his spirit is weak and full of vanity.
“‘Don’t bother about me,’ says his heart, ‘I am only a poor merchant without spirit and lights; lead me but leave me in the last place to tidy up the house. Say the mass and preach; I will sweep the church, arrange the chairs, and pay for the service with the money God made me earn for this sole purpose.
“‘I have one of the first positions in the world,’ says his mind. ‘I walk in front of ideas; I teach ministers, kings, bishops, and the pope. I establish one party and destroy others. When we work and talk, he comes down from the clouds with absurd ideas; we impose silence on him, sometimes harshly; we do exactly the opposite of what he asks for, and he submits with childlike docility.’
“He talks and rambles without fear or emotion about the subtlest and most serious things before fifty people he does not know but are well-placed and worthy. He talks huge nonsense with enormous ease. He is dedicated to everything, offers himself ardently for every task, and rushes to take the last place and pay for others. Suddenly, he imagines they despise and ruin him and complains that he is the cash cow of the whole world.
“Without him, the work would have collapsed long ago. He saved it in conditions few men would have done so, with complete and perfect disinterestedness in money or influence. Who can blame him if he is now tired after five years? It is of him, above all, that one can say that man is admirable in his imperfections. What a miracle to get so much out of such a poor machine!”
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Eugène Taconet’s qualities outweighed his defects until l’Univers’s suppression. Once the newspaper disappeared, the authorities permitted him to found another paper, Le Monde. The official approval had one provision: Le Monde could not publish any work by Louis Veuillot. For seven years, Le Monde published discreetly, without Veuillot’s contributions. Gradually, Taconet began to think that Veuillot was dispensable. He could, Taconet decided, be replaced by someone lacking the troublesome ardor of the former editor-in-chief of l’Univers.
In 1867, Napoleon III inaugurated a new liberal domestic policy. He suspended many old press laws. This allowed Veuillot to return to journalism. Taconet did not want to receive him at Le Monde with the same independence as before. Therefore, Veuillot applied for a permit to found a new newspaper with the old name, l’Univers. The government initially resisted authorizing the old title, but Napoleon III intervened in a show of his sincerity and liberal intentions.
However, Taconet considered himself the owner of the name l’Univers. This caused Veuillot far more severe embarrassment. Veuillot was obliged to establish a corporation to obtain the funds to relaunch the paper. His initiative aroused enormous enthusiasm among French Catholics. In a short time, all shares were purchased. However, Taconet’s accusation that Veuillot had misappropriated the title could put the whole project at risk. Veuillot decided to go to Rome to consult the Holy Father about the advisability of the work. He submitted the question to the Pope.
Pius IX received him with his usual affection, blessing the proposed newspaper. The Holy Father immediately settled the dispute by declaring that l’Univers belonged to Louis Veuillot, just as Veuillot belonged to l’Univers. The newspaper’s title should go with the journalist who had inspired and directed it.
In Rome, the reappearance of l’Univers was greeted with joy. Everyone wanted to collaborate in its success. Although all shares were sold, many sought to buy them or help in some other way. Veuillot faced a real battle to refuse financial aid from the newspaper’s friends.
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The new periodical debuted on April 16, 1867. Veuillot was now the owner. Apart from this change, the first issue made it evident that the old L’Univers had resurrected. The entire editorial staff was in place except for Coquille, who preferred to remain at Le Monde. Melchior Du Lac attacked the Italian government; Léon Aubineau dealt with workers’ issues; Joseph Chantrel defended Catholic Ireland; Eugène Veuillot showed the danger that Prussian ambition posed to France. Louis Veuillot, in his background article, could well say, “Our program is our past.” Former collaborators also answered the call. Luminaries like the Count of Lansade, Dom Guéranger and the Count of La Tour d’Auvergne wrote again in the paper that had been suppressed for so long.
Accordingly, L’Univers resurfaced with more strength and prestige than before.