Dictionnaire historique et critique

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Date: 1693 1698

Region: Europe

Subject: Religious

Medium: Literature


Artist: Pierre Bayle (1647 - 1706)

Confronting Bodies: French government of Louis XIV and the Roman Catholic Church

Dates of Action: 1693, 1698

Location: France, Holland

Description of Artwork: Bayle professed that religion and morality were separable, and that athiests could be as virtuous as Christians.

The Incident: Bayle, a Huguenot, left France for the Netherlands in 1685, when Louis XIV's government persecuted Protestants and Calvinists. He became a professor of philosophy and history at the University of Rotterdam in 1685, but was dismissed in 1693. His most notable work, Dictionnaire historique et critique scrutinizes biblical figures, acknowledging them as "false when refuted by the clear and distinct perception of human reason." His book was placed on the Catholic Church's Index Librorum Prohibitorum in 1698.

Results of Incident: Bayle was allowed to publish a second edition of his book in Holland. There, he was given freedom to express his beliefs and argue with his opponents

Source: Censorship, A World Encyclopedia, ed. D. Jones