After a run-in with a teacher he had lampooned, he completed his secondary education in Ghent while living with a family friend, Henri Moke.
He went on to study philosophy and letters at Ghent University, while beginning to build a literary reputation by writing for the stage.
[1] His father died in 1848, obliging him to abandon his studies and focus on earning a living through writing, primarily as a journalist.
[3] In 1856 he covered the coronation of Alexander II of Russia for Le Nord, and from 1857 to 1859 he was the editor-in-chief of L'Etoile Belge.
[1] From 1859 to 1870, Hymans sat in the Belgian Chamber of Representatives as a "doctrinaire" member of the Liberal Party, frequently speaking in debates and taking a particular interest in intellectual property, state education, the civil service, child labour, the language question, and electoral reform.