Boulainvilliers first linked cyclical history to constitution and revolution.

Evidence

This philosophy of history as philosophy of cyclical time becomes possible from the eighteenth century onward, or in other words, once the two notions of a constitution and a relationship of force become established. With Boulainvilliers, we see—I think for the first time— the idea of a cyclical history appearing within an articulated historical discourse. Empires, says Boulainvilliers, rise and fall into decadence depending on how the light of the sun shines upon their territory. The revolution of the sun, and the revolution of history: as you can see, the two things are now linked. So we have a pair, a link among three things: constitution, revolution, and cyclical history. — Michel Foucault, Society Must Be Defended, 5642

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth checking whether Foucault’s claim that Boulainvilliers was ‘first’ for a cyclical history in articulated historical discourse is defensible against counterexamples like Vico or Renaissance theorists.