At an early age, his prodigious memory and learning genius made their debut and the priest decided to teach him Latin. At the age of twelve, he entered the College of Montciel, near Lons-le-Saunier (Jura). He studied
Literature,
Ancient History, the
Classics and
Philosophy. He moved on to higher branches of learning, receiving a bachelor's degree at the Faculty of Letters at Lyon where he also received his
Licentiate's Degree and a Fellowship. He studied philosophy under the celebrated Professor Arthur Hennequin. He knew
Socrates'
Precepts of
Self-knowledge, but the one that guided his life was: "Renounce thyself while serving others". His philosophy professor was such an ideal for him that after Hennequin's death, he left the university. He went to work at the Société Générale, a bank in Lyon and worked there until 1913. Later he went to work for the Banque Nationale de Crédit in Lyon and continued his work there until his death. == Esoteric activities ==