Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney

By Yann Ballanger

In collaboration with Parivash Ardei-Amini

Translated from the original French

Bahá’í Publishing 1233 Central St., Evanston, IL 60202

Copyright © 2025 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States

All rights reserved. Published 2025

Printed in the United States of America ∞ 28 27 26 25 1 2 3 4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Ballanger, Yann, author. | Amini, Parivash Ardei, author.

Title: Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney : disciple of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá / by Yann Ballanger ; in collaboration with Parivash Ardei Amini.

Description: Evanston, IL : Bahá’í Publishing, 2025. | Translation of: Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney : premier bahá’í français. | Includes bibliographical references and indexes. | Translated from the original French.

Identifiers: LCCN 2024056287 | ISBN 9781618512598 (paperback) | ISBN 9781618512604 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Dreyfus, Hippolyte, 1873–1928. | Bahais— France—Biography. | Bahai Faith—France—History.

Classification: LCC BP395.D74 B35 2025 | DDC 297.9/30944—dc23/eng/20250130

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2024056287

Cover design by Carlos Esparza

Book design by Patrick Falso

1 / Early Years

Hippolyte Isidore Dreyfus is born on April 12, 1873 at 2:15am in the eighth arrondissement of Paris, 11 rue Rovigo, into a wealthy Jewish French family.1 His father, Georges Arthur Lucien Dreyfus (1840–1911), is a stockbroker; his mother, Léa Marie Sophie Inès Cardozo (1848–1913), looks after the family home. They will have a second child, a daughter, Yvonne (1875–1941), with whom Hippolyte will have a particularly close and affectionate relationship.

The Dreyfus family is known in Parisian cultural circles for the musical evenings they organize at which amateurs, connoisseurs, and artists gather to express and experience their love of music. Art is omnipresent in young Hippolyte’s childhood: his uncle, Gustave Louis Dreyfus (1837–1914) is a great traveler—he worked in Egypt for the construction of the Suez Canal—and a recognized art collector; his first cousin, Carle Dreyfus (1875–1952), will become the curator of the art department at the Louvre Museum. Very early on, Hippolyte develops a passion for classical music that he will retain for the rest of his life. His sister-in-law, Natalie Barney, remembers his love of the music of Wagner and Claude Debussy: “. . . he entered a concert hall alone, listened to the piece for which he had come, and went out quietly without waiting for the rest.”2

At this time, better known as the Belle Époque, Europe is going through a tremendous transformation: it is marked by significant social, economic, technological, and political progress, and Paris, where artists and intellectuals from all over the world converge, radi-

HIPPOLYTE DREYFUS-BARNEY: DISCIPLE OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ

ates their philosophical, spiritual, and political values as the preeminent center of European culture. However, the social environment of the time is complex, the rise of intolerance and anti-Semitism is increasingly strong and is exacerbated by the case of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, who, it might be noted, is not related to Hippolyte by blood.3 In this very particular context of the complex times in which he lived, Hippolyte nevertheless has a happy childhood during which he develops his own distinctive qualities: a great openness of mind, an artistic sensitivity, and a pronounced taste for intellectual activities. So it was that “he grew up strong in appreciation of life and all that it has to offer.”4

In 1886, Hippolyte completes his grammar school studies. In 1890, he passes his Bachelor of Arts at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris.5 He then attends the Faculty of Law of the School of Political Sciences: he earns a Bachelor of the Law degree in 1892 and becomes a law graduate in 1893.

At the age of twenty, Hippolyte performs his military service in Rouen in the 74th infantry regiment for one year, instead of the required three years, in order, as the law allows, to be able to continue his studies. In 1894, he is admitted to the Bar of the Paris Court of Appeal and becomes a doctor of the law in 1898 after successfully defending his thesis on “The rights of succession of the surviving spouse in French law and in the principal foreign statutes.”6 Finally, he becomes secretary to François Thévenet,7 one of the most eminent lawyers at the Court and former Minister of Justice and Religious Affairs in the French government.

Building on his academic and professional successes, Hippolyte is also attracted by questions of social justice and devotes his time to offering aid and assistance to the most unfortunate in his community, to whom he tirelessly tries to provide support and comfort.8 In fact, he has been a very active member of the Visitors’ Society,9 a home-based social assistance center for the neediest members of society, since its foundation.10 He is noted for his “ideal of justice and goodness,” his

HIPPOLYTE DREYFUS-BARNEY: DISCIPLE OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ

“sense of collaboration,” his “great generosity,” and his ardent desire “to direct his life differently from others.”11

2 / First Encounter with the Bahá’í Faith

At the dawn of the twentieth century, Hippolyte is a dynamic young man who divides his life between his work with influential lawyers, personal involvement in voluntary social service, and prestigious evenings within Parisian cultural, intellectual, and artistic circles. He considers himself “an agnostic who believed [believes] that life and character are above dogma and creed.”1 However, like many skeptics, he feels that there is “something else”2 that he cannot identify, so he decides “to explore the occult sciences, but they disappointed [disappoint] him because he could [can] not find what he was [is] looking for.”3

In 1901, this sincere and ardent thirst to search for the truth is eventually confirmed. During a musical evening organized by his family, he meets Margaret Sanderson and her daughters, Sybil and Edith, with whom he has been acquainted for several years. Margaret Sanderson is close to her uncle Gustave Dreyfus, and her daughters studied piano with Jules Massenet,4 a close friend of the Dreyfus family.

During the evening, Hippolyte is stunned by the transformation he notices in his friend Edith: she exudes a new confidence, a mixture of joy and certainty that he has never seen previously in her. He questions her, and she confides in him her secret: she recently met friends who were returning from ‘Akká5 in Palestine where they met a fantastic character who preaches a new faith that aims at the unity of religions and humanity. Intrigued, Hippolyte asks for more

HIPPOLYTE

DREYFUS-BARNEY: DISCIPLE OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ

information. Edith then offers him an invitation to meet the one who entrusted her with this message, an American residing in Paris: May Bolles. Enchanted by the idea, he agrees.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Bahá’í community in France is composed of only a dozen members who are mainly orbiting around May Bolles, one of the first American believers. She lives in Paris where her brother, Randolph Bolles (1871–1939), continues his studies at the École des beaux-arts.6 In 1898, she was part of the first group of Western pilgrims to visit the Holy Land in order to attain the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.7

‘Abdu’l-Bahá was the eldest son of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. He was named ‘Abbás (Lion) when He was born to Mírzá Husayn-‘Alí Núrí (later called Bahá’u’lláh) and His wife Ásíyih Khánum. Bahá’u’lláh Himself, during His lifetime, had encouraged all His followers to refer to ‘Abbás Effendi as “the Master.” In His Kitáb-i-‘Ahd (Book of the Covenant), Bahá’u’lláh appointed ‘Abdu’lBahá as the Center of the Covenant, to Whom all believers were to turn upon the passing of the Prophet-Founder of the Faith. All the early believers, and especially the Western pilgrims who engaged in journeys of pilgrimage to ‘Akká, were drawn to Bahá’u’lláh’s resting place, the sacred spot that was the focal point of the nascent faith community. These pilgrims were also overwhelmed with the joy of attaining the presence of their beloved Master, who welcomed them with immense love and patiently nurtured them in their understanding of the new Revelation.

On her return to Paris, May Bolles succeeded in establishing the first Bahá’í center on the European continent, thanks to her constant efforts carried out in accordance with the instructions of ‘Abdu’lBahá; thus, the Bahá’ís living in Paris at that time regard her more or less as their spiritual guide.8 Among this group of early believers who responded joyfully to the teachings of the Blessed Beauty,9 as enunciated by his humble servant May Bolles, we find several characters who will make a mark and leave an imprint of their lives in the history of the Faith: Edith MacKaye, Laura Barney, Thomas Breakwell, Marion Jack, Charles Mason Remey, and Sydney Sprague.

FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH

During the summer of 1901, Hippolyte travels, as promised, to the small apartment occupied by May Bolles that was located on Avenue de Iéna and placed at her disposal by her friend, Ms. Edith Jackson. Let us leave it to May Bolles to tell us about this first meeting, a meeting that will totally change the course of Hippolyte’s life:

The Beloved sent that month the destined one to shed the light of Baha in France through the marvellous translations into French of a number of revealed books of Baha’u’llah. Never shall I forget the overpowering impression of grace and power in the person of Hippolyte Dreyfus the first time he came to see me.

He said, “I have come to learn what it is you have done to produce so remarkable a change in Edith Sanderson. She is not the same, she has found joy, serenity, and a deep purpose in life”—and with his charming smile—“how did you do it?” He asked to know the tenets of a Faith which had, he said, transformed a friend of his. With fervour, simplicity, and, conscious of my utter ignorance in the face of such a scholar, putting my full trust in Bahá’u’lláh, as the Master had bidden me in Acca [‘Akká] to do—I told him all I knew! He listened with courteous attention, deep interest at times, searching questions, and overall, a light veil of humour and slight scepticism. When he rose to go, he took my hand warmly and cordially and told me that it was no doubt interesting, that he did not recognize its historic importance, that he was touched by the ardour of my faith, but he did not believe in any force outside, or beyond natural forces, and that he had never in his life experienced anything that would lead him to believe in Divine or spiritual influences. Then he left, saying he would come again some time.

Within 8 or 10 days he returned, amazed and disturbed. It appeared he had been having a series of somewhat strange experiences governed by laws, or conditions, which he could not explain by natural forces, although he argued with himself

11 / Spreading the Faith Across

his Native Land

In 1908 Hippolyte continues his efforts to spread the Faith to the French-speaking public with the same dexterity, enthusiasm, and joy as when he was traveling and teaching the Cause abroad. On May 23, as part of the annual series of lectures of the Lyon Section of the Mission laïque francaise1 (French Secular Mission), he delivers a talk titled “A new religion: Behaism.”2 This conference in the city of Lyon is one of the first direct presentations of the Bahá’í Faith recorded in France outside Paris.3

From 15 May, the secretary of the Lyon Section announces in the Lyon Universitaire 4 the participation of Hippolyte:

Soon, Mr. Hippolyte Dreyfus will make known to Lyon circles a new religion, “Behaism.” [. . .] In a very remarkable lecture that he once gave at the École des hautes études sociales, Mr. Hippolyte Dreyfus, the first person to do so in France, traced the very recent origins of this religious movement, its history, that of its martyrs and analysed its pacifist aspirations. Devoting his free time, and I would say almost all his activity, to know and make known this religion, to translate the manuscripts of its prophets and founders, to travel to Asia to study and penetrate the new doctrine by being there among its devoted adherents, he acquired a very thorough experience of Behaism. [. . .] In the “Documents of Progress” of last March, Mr.

HIPPOLYTE DREYFUS-BARNEY: DISCIPLE OF ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ

H. Dreyfus summarized in these terms what characterizes the Béhaïe religion: “Recognizing the validity of earlier religions in the principles brought by their founders, Behaism invites men to appeasement and union, for moral and social progress. No more rites, no more clergy, no more dogmas that we impose; the knowledge of God, human brotherhood are our goal, our reason enlightened by the teachings of the prophet is our guide. Thus must fall the hitherto impassable barriers raised by previous religions; thus will disappear the prejudices of race and caste, continuous obstacles to progress.” [. . .] Behaism is developing in Asia Minor, India, Russia, Egypt, and in Turkey. It already has many followers in Europe and in America. The prophet’s manuscripts are now translated into English and French; the French translation has just been published by the publisher Leroux, by the care of Mr. H. Dreyfus. Behaism therefore presents itself with a certain urgency to contemporary scientific curiosity. [. . .] The “French Secular Mission,” which is developing its action in Asia Minor, Persia and the Far East, must carefully study the Behaï movement. The members of the Lyon Committee are therefore invited to the conference of Mr. H. Dreyfus. But this conference is also of interest to all those who, free thinkers or believers, are attached to the study of religious movements.5

The assembly is chaired by Mr. Édouard Herriot,6 mayor of Lyon and president of the Lyon Section of the French Secular Mission. The presence of Mr. Édouard Herriot, an important figure in French politics, gives a lot of weight to Hippolyte’s public speech and attracts a large audience.

In his introduction, Hippolyte adapts his speech to his new audience: to the theosophists, he speaks of the unity of religions; to the members of the French Secular Mission, he chooses to speak of liberalism as well as the values of respect and of tolerance shared by the Faith and by his listeners. True to the tenor of his previous public talks, he presents the Bahá’í Faith as a new religion and makes it explicitly clear

that the Bahá’í Faith is not a body of superstitious beliefs, or a cult, or a form of tribal worship: “A universal undertaking of human reconciliation in the field of beliefs that hitherto had divided more than united, of a religion without cults, without dogmas, without priestly hierarchy, and which addresses all classes of humanity, resolved to freeing themselves from ancient superstitions.”7

This address follows the logic he has successfully adhered to in his previous lectures: the presentation of the Persian context and the history of the Faith; the evolution of the Bábí Faith into a universal religion, namely the Bahá’í Faith; and finally, the enunciation of its ethical and social principles, which he describes as being “perfectly adapted to modern civilization.”8 The originality of his argument resides, this time, in the importance he places upon the task of explaining why the term religion has lost its true meaning and the time he spends redefining and reframing the concept of true religion. He insists that the Bahá’í Faith, as a religion, is neither based upon superstition nor propagated by means of manipulation but is perfectly compatible with liberalism and science: “In France, the country of Voltaire and the Revolution, which has had so much trouble breaking free from the shackles of a state religion, and where the struggle against clerical interference in the affairs of politics never seems to end, there has always been more or less an attempt to confuse religion and catechism, and the beliefs of different peoples have often been included in the same distrust or indifference. Only recently has it been realized that faith and science are not so irreconcilable.”9

In his presentation of the fundamental principles of Faith, he focuses his discourse on the importance of unity between men and moral values, then gradually demonstrates how these principles define true religion:

The essential idea of Behaism is that, far from proclaiming itself the sole holder of the truth, and considering as heretics the followers of older beliefs, it claims instead to unite them all in a common ideal, at once sociological, ethical and religious. For it asserts that no faith, no religion, no philosophy has a chance of