His next great work, the Antigone, a prose poem, published in 1814, was the fruit of long and quiet meditation, and was received with great favour by the brilliant literary society surrounding Chateaubriand and Mme. Récamier, into which Ballanche had been introduced. From this year, 1814, dates his serious effort towards a speculative reconstruction of society, an exposition of the palingenesis of social order. He transferred his residence to Paris, where he continued to live in communication with the few thinkers who had like philosophical tendencies with himself. In 1817 appeared his Essai sur les Institutions Sociales dans leur rapport avec les Idées nouvelles, which was intended to serve as a prelude to his great tripartite social epic. The work is more intelligible than any other of Ballanche’s; it advocates a moderate constitutional government, and was, on this account, misjudged by many, who fancied it recommended Bourbonism. A philosophical dialogue, Le Vieillard et le Jeune Homme, and a novel, L'Homme sans Nom, were written in 1819 and 1820. He then devoted himself to his great work, the Palingénésie Sodale. This, which was to be a Theodicoea, an exposition of the workings of God in history, was divided into three parts: the first reconstructed that period of the world which was before the rise of religion, which is prehistoric, or mythical; the second endeavoured, from a study of known history, to deduce a universal law or rule; the third sketched that state of things through and in which humanity at last attains its final end and crowning glory. The works representing these three parts were called L'Orphée, La Formule, and La Ville des Expiations; only the first was completed, but some fragments of the others are in existence. To the whole a general introduction was prefixed, which is the most valuable of all Ballanche’s works. His latest writing, Vision d'Hébal (Hebal being the chief of a Scottish clan, and gifted with second sight), was evidently intended to form portion of the third part of the Palingénésie. In mystical language it gives vague and semi-prophetic utterances on the future course of worldhistory. It is by some considered his greatest production. Ballanche, who in 1841 had received the distinguished honour of a seat in the French Academy, died in 1847. He was much beloved by his friends, and seems to have been a most amiable, warm-hearted man, enthusiastic and poetical in temperament, whose intellect, however, was overshadowed by his imagination. A collected edition of his works was set on foot in 1830, and was intended to occupy nine vols. Only four appeared, and were republished in a smaller form in 1833.

It is almost impossible to give a connected view of Ballanche’s fundamental ideas. As has been said, he belonged to the theocratic school, who, in opposition to the rationalism of the preceding age, emphasised the principle of authority, placing revelation above individual reason, order above freedom and progress. But Ballanche made a sincere endeavour to unite in one system what was valuable in the opposed modes of thinking. He held with the theocratiste that individualism was an impracticable view; man, according to him, exists only in and through society. He agreed further with them that the origin of society was to be explained, not by human desire and efforts, but by a direct revelation from God. Lastly, with De Bonald, he reduced the problem of the origin of society to that of the origin of language, and held that language was a divine gift. But at this point he parts company with the theocratists, and in this very revelation of language finds a germ of progress. Originally, in the primitive state of man, speech and thought are identical; but gradually the two separate; language is no longer only spoken, it is also written, and finally is printed. Thus the primitive unity is broken up; the original social order which co-existed with, and was dependent on it, breaks up also. New institutions spring up, upon which thought acts, and in and through which it even draws nearer to a final unity, a rehabilitation, a palingenesis. The volition of primitive man was one with that of God, but it becomes broken up into separate volitions which oppose themselves to the divine will, and through the oppositions and trials of this world work onwards to a second and completer harmony. The history of humanity is therefore comprised in the fall from the perfect state, and in the return, after repeated, trials, to a similar condition. In the dim, shadowy records of mythical times may be traced the obscure outlines of primitive society and of its fall; and this is attempted in the Orphée. Actual history exhibits the conflict of two great principles, which may be said to be realised in the patricians and plebeians of Borne. Such a distinction of caste is regarded by Ballanche as the original state of historical society; and history, as a whole, he considers to have followed the same course as that taken by the Roman plebs in its gradual and successful attempts to attain equality with the patriciate. On the future events through which the human race shall achieve its destiny Ballanche gives few intelligible hints. The sudden flash which disclosed to the eyes of Hebal the whole epic of humanity cannot be reproduced in language trammelled by time and space. Scattered throughout the works of Ballanche are many valuable ideas on the connection of events which makes possible a philosophy of history; but his own theory, so far as it can be understood and judged, does not seem likely to find more favour than it has already met with.

See Ampere, Ballanche, Paris, 1848; Ste. Beuve, Portraits Contemporaines, vol. ii.; Damiron, Philosophie de XIX mβ Siècle. An admirable analysis of the works composing the Palingénésie is given by Barchou, Beυue de deux Mondes, 1831, t. 2. pp. 410-4δ6.