École pratique des hautes études
Initially a law student in Poitiers, he later devoted his energies towards philology, taking classes in Semitic languages at the École pratique des hautes études and the Collège de France in Paris. While a student, he was introduced to Assyrian and Babylonian studies by way of influence from Julius Oppert. Following graduation, he became a lecturer in Syriac languages at the École des lettres d'Alger (1880). In 1881 he returned to Paris, where he served as a lecturer at the École pratique des hautes études. In 1888 he was appointed director-adjoint of the school.