Mersenne and Vanini

Abstract

Although many scholars have cited Marin Mersenne's Quaestiones celeberrimae in Genesim for his critical remarks about the life of Julius Caesar Vanini, none of them has realised the extent to which Mersenne dealt with Vanini's works. They have found in Mersenne only a story about Vanini's intention to teach atheism, his execution, and one or two criticisms of his ideas. Far from making here and there a few comments about Vanini, however, Mersenne devoted a large portion of the volume to a critical analysis of the view of nature and religion which Vanini presents in his two books. The purpose of this article is, first, to explain why no one has hitherto discovered the extent of Mersenne's preoccupation with Vanini and, secondly, to examine briefly his basic attitude to Vanini's life and works.