Jean-Joseph Rive

Jean-Joseph Rive (; 19 May 1730. – 20 October 1791

When the Marquis de Méjanes bequeathed a considerable library to the , the archbishop of Aix proposed, on behalf of his fellow Provençaux, that abbot Rive be the librarian of the bibliothèque Méjanes. Rive accepted this post, but his exorbitant claims gave rise to endless disputes, that his presence at Aix, where he had returned, made even more difficult to close. Meanwhile, the Révolution broke out and put an end to this project.

Abbot Rive then founded in the Provençal capital, the faction of the Frères Anti-Politiques (Anti-Political Brethren), gathering little people who were sowing terror. Their misdeeds lead to the in which was notably murdered lawyer , of which Rive was even accused of causing death. No one knows where he would have stopped had he not died in 1792 of a stroke at age 62.

Selected publications 1770: Lettres philosophiques contre le Système de la nature, Portefeuille hebdomadaire de Bruxelles. 1790: Lettre vraiment philosophique. 1791: Au trés-integre et au trés-respectable tribunal judiciaire de Marseille. 1793: Chronique littéraire des ouvrages imprimés et manuscrits de l’abbé Rive, Imp. des" Anti-Copet. 1780: Eclaircissements historiques et critiques sur l’invention des cartes à jouer, François-Ambroise Didot, Paris.