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Anlier
The pont d'Oye
The ironworks
Maurice Grévisse
The Mageroy Gallo-Roman villa
Rulles, the village of bridges
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Maurice Grévisse.
His youth
On 7th October 1895, Maurice Grevisse was born in Rulles, the son of an ironworker and Marie Emilie Michel, a seamstress. He only had eyes for his father whose calmness and 'good work' gave him a certain authority. As a blacksmith, he excelled in work which required patience and accuracy, notably when adding the 'teeth' to farm equipment such as the sickle. He attended 'the little school' run by Sister Agathe who always kept a box of crystallised sugar at the bottom of her pocket. Children who were good were allowed to lick their index finger (their 'good finger'!) and dip it into the sugar for a tasty reward.
One day during playtime, he ran away as fast as he could back home. However, he was caught by an elder pupil in his sister Marguerite's class in the 'calvary' and was taken sheepish and whining to Sister Agathe. At 'big school' 'Master' Foret gave him a taste for grammar. Maurice had already obtained his ironworkers overalls but, on the advice of M. Jules Foret, he decided to continue with his studies. Maurice often accompanied the parish priest, M. Lemaire, a keen fisherman, but once had to save him when the priest ventured too far down the river to an islet. Having fallen into the water, the abbot was helped out by the young boy, Maurice. Maurice’s father needed his son to help at the ironworks, but Maurice insisted on returning to his domain with the support of his schoolmaster. He pursued his secondary education at a Marist school in Arlon and then went on to complete his teaching degree in Carlsbourg. Following a brief period of teaching, he immersed himself in his secondary school teacher training degree (specialising in literature) in Malonne.
His career.
As a teacher at a military school in Marneffe, he was both admired and feared for his strictness and virtual infallibility when it came to syntax and orthography. While continuing with his teaching, he taught himself Latin and Greek and passed the exam for the 'Jury Central', thus making him eligible for university study. He registered with the University of Liège and became a doctor in classic philology without taking any courses. He was appointed as a teacher at the school for army cadets, a role he carried out in Namur in Seilles and then finally in Brussels where he settled permanently.
" BON USAGE".
In 1936, one of his colleagues suggested that he update his grammar book which had aged somewhat. As a result, Maurice went through it page by page, chapter by chapter, and the pages stacked up on his desk. In fact, he ended up writing a completely new book, but publishers were horrified by its size! Several months later Fernand Desonay, a lecturer at the University of Liège, discovered this hand-written work. He was both impressed and encouraged by this work and notably by the skilful hand in which it was written which resembled Roman, italics script. Despite his support for the book, publishers still rejected it. Brother Joseph of the 'Procure' in Namur suggested that he approach the Father Duclot, the printer in Gembloux. Although initially reluctant, he finally agreed to publish the text. The first edition of the book, 'Bon usage', had 704 pages and 3,000 copies were made. The second edition was published in 1986 and contained no fewer than 1,800 pages. The book which was initially seen as a 'risk' has now sold well over a million copies. Maurice Grevisse has received a great deal of praise for his book 'Bon usage': Henri Troyat, Jean Rostand, Hervé Bazin, President Senghor, André Gide have all admired his work. On 8th February 1947, on the front page of the 'Figaro littéraire', André Gide wrote a long article in which he praised the author as 'the best grammarian of the French language'. Our friends in France may not be used to receiving a French lesson from Belgium, but this time they will have to change their minds.
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