Early Deism in France: From the So-Called "deistes" of Lyon (1564) to Voltaire's "Lettres philosophiques" (1734)

Abstract

I. Prehistory, from 1564 to about 1670.- 1. Introductory Pierre Viret's 'deistes' at Lyon, and two characters in Bodin.- Viret's 'deistes': anti-Christian or anti-trinitarian?.- Natural religion and tolerance in Bodin's Colloquium heptaplomeres.- 2. The 1620s: Mersenne and the 'poeme des deistes'.- 3. The absence of deistic ideas from 1630 to 1670.- II. The later seventeenth century: precursors and definitions, from Saint-Evremond to Bayle.- 4. Saint-Evremond and the decline of fideism.- Early fideism.- Satire, eirenism and Christian morality in Holland.- Detached worldliness in the late works.- 5. The Utopian religions of Foigny and Veiras.- Foigny's La Terre australe connue: faith against reason.- Veiras' Histoire des Sevarambes:ritual and tolerance.- The two Utopias compared.- 6. Definitions and accusations, 1670-1700 'deism' as a term of opprobrium.- Natural religion, travel and religious conflict.- D'Assoucy.- Jurieu's usage.- Abbadie and Le Clerc.- Simon and Bossuet.- Fontenelle and Bayle.- Two end-of-century examples.- 7. The Turkish Spy.- The question of Marana's authorship.- Mahmut's pious doubts.- Three deistic letters.- The later volumes.- Tite de Moldavie and Christianity.- III. The first French deists, 1700-1715.- 8. Gilbert's Calejava: rational deism with Protestant overtones.- 9. Lahontan and Gueudeville: natural religion from Canada.- 10. The anti-Christian deism of the Militaire philosophe.- Critical deism: rational principles and the attack on belief and faith.- Critical deism in detail.- A system of deism based on justice.- 11. The Examen de la religion and other clandestine works.- Rationalist preliminaries.- The critique of Christian proofs.- Catholicism replaced by rational secularismy.- The Examen and other deist manuscripts.- Boulainviller and the Opinions des anciens.- Chaulieu and La Fare.- 12. Tyssot de Patot: types of deism and religious criticism.- Austral deists again.- A Chinese anti-trinitarian in Goa.- A Gascon renegade in Algiers.- The politics of religion: war, imposture and intolerance.- Attacks on the Bible and biblical doctrines.- Tyssot and his characters' opinions.- IV. Deistic ideas in the early works of Montesquieu and Voltaire.- 13. Montesquieu: Lettres persanes.- God and justice.- The afterlife and providence.- Secular and utilitarian values.- The clergy.- Conclusions.- 14. Voltaire: Lettres philosophiques.- Between Christianity and deism: Ramsay and Lassay.- Voltaire's religious poems before 1734.- The Lettres philosophiques: the letters on the Quakers.- Sects and the clergy: L. 5, L. 6, L. 8, L. 9.- L. 7 and L. 13, Dr Clarke and Mr Locke.- The attack on Pascal.- The deism of the Lettres philosophiques.- 15. Conclusions.- Biography.- Literary allusions.- Religious attitudes.- Bibliography: 1. Manuscripts and published works discussed in the text as examples or precursors of deism.- 2. Editions, used for reference, of works by major authors.- 3. Secondary authorities, cited in the notes or of general interest for the subject excluding works cited in the Appendix.