A Short History of Freethought Ancient and Modern, Volume 2 of 2

A SHORT HISTORY OF FREETHOUGHT

ANCIENT AND MODERN

BY JOHN M. ROBERTSON

THIRD EDITION, REVISED AND EXPANDED IN TWO VOLUMES Vol. II

(ISSUED FOR THE RATIONALIST PRESS ASSOCIATION, LIMITED)

London: WATTS & CO., JOHNSON'S COURT, FLEET STREET, E.C.

1915

CONTENTS

VOLUME II✦

PAGE

Chap. XIII--The Rise of Modern Freethought (continued)

§ 4. England. Persecution and executions under Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth. Charges of atheism. Lilly's polemic. Reginald Scot on witchcraft. The Family of Love. Hamond, Lewes, Kett. Apologetic literature. Influence of Machiavelli. Nashe's polemic. Marlowe, Raleigh, Harriott, Kyd. Protests of Pilkington and Hooker. Polemic of Bishop Morton. Shakespeare. The drama generally. Executions under James. Bacon. Suckling 1 § 5. Popular Thought in Europe. Callidius. Flade. Wier. Coornhert. Grotius. Gorlæus. Zwicker. Koerbagh. Beverland. Socinianism. The case of Spain. Cervantes 32 § 6. Scientific Thought. Copernicus. Giordano Bruno. Vanini. Galileo. The Aristotelian strife. Vives. Ramus. Descartes. Gassendi 41

Chap. XIV--British Freethought in the Seventeenth Century

§ 1. Lord Herbert of Cherbury. Hobbes. Selden 69 § 2. The popular ferment: attempted suppression of heresy by Parliament. Lawrence Clarkson. The Levellers and Toleration. Forms of unbelief. The term "rationalist." Propaganda against atheism. Culverwel. The Polemic of Henry More. Freethought at the Restoration. The case of Biddle. The protests of Howe, Stillingfleet, and Baxter. Freethought in Scotland. The argument of Mackenzie. English Apologetics of Casaubon, Ingelo, Temple, Wilkins, Tillotson, Cudworth, Boyle, and others. Martin Clifford. Emergence of Deism. Avowals of Archdeacon Parker, Sherlock, and South. Dryden. Discussion on miracles. Charles Blount. Leslie's polemic. Growth of apologetic literature. Toland. The Licensing Act 75 § 3. Literary, scientific, and academic developments. Sir Thomas Browne. Jeremy Taylor. John Spencer. Joseph Glanvill. Cartesianism. Glisson. Influence of Gassendi. Resistance to Copernican theory. Lord Falkland. Colonel Fry. Locke. Bury. Temple. The Marquis of Halifax. Newton. Unitarianism. Penn. Firmin. Latitudinarianism. Tillotson. Dr. T. Burnet. Dr. B. Connor. John Craig. The "rationalists" 100

Chap. XV--French and Dutch Freethought in the Seventeenth Century

1. Influence of Montaigne and Charron. Gui Patin. Naudé. La Mothe le Vayer 117 2. Catholic Pyrrhonism 120 3. Descartes's influence. Boileau. Jesuit and royal hostility 121 4. Vogue of freethinking. Malherbe. Joan Fontanier. Théophile de Viau. Claude Petit. Corneille. Molière 122 5. Cyrano de Bergerac 123 6. Pascal's skepticism. Religious quarrels 124 7. Huet's skepticism 126 8. Cartesianism. Malebranche 128 9. Buffier. Scientific movements 130 10. Richard Simon. La Peyrère 131 11. Dutch thought. Louis Meyer. Cartesian heresy 132 12. Spinoza 133 13. Biblical criticism. Spinozism. Deurhoff. B. Bekker 137 14. Bayle 139 15. Developments in France. The polemic of Abbadie. Persecution of Protestants. Fontenelle 141 16. St. Evremond. Regnard. La Bruyère. Spread of skepticism. Fanaticism at court 143

Chap. XVI--British Freethought in the Eighteenth Century

§ 1. Toland. Blasphemy Law. Strifes among believers. Cudworth. Bishops Browne and Berkeley. Heresy in the Church. The Schools of Newton, Leibnitz, and Clarke. Hutchinson. Halley. Provincial deism. Saunderson. Simson. Literary orthodoxy. Addison. Steele. Berkeley. Swift. New deism. Shaftesbury. Trenchard. Unitarianism. Asgill. Coward. Dodwell. Whiston 147 § 2. Anthony Collins. Bentley's attack. Mandeville. Woolston. Middleton. Deism at Oxford. Tindal. Middleton and Waterland 154 § 3. Unitarianism: its spread among Presbyterians. Chubb. Hall. Elwall 159 § 4. Berkeley's polemic. Lady Mary Montagu. Pope. Deism and Atheism. Coward. Strutt 162 § 5. Parvish. Influence of Spinoza 167 § 6. William Pitt. Morgan. Annet. Dodwell the Younger 169 § 7. The work achieved by deism. The social situation. Recent disparagements and German testimony 170 § 8. Arrest of English science. Hale. Burnet. Whiston. Woodward. Effects of Imperialism. Contrast with France. The mathematicians 176 § 9. Supposed "decay" of deism. Butler. William Law. Hume 179 § 10. Freethought in Scotland. Execution of Thomas Aikenhead. Confiscation of innovating books. Legislation against deism. Anstruther's and Halyburton's polemic. Strife over creeds. John Johnstone. William Dudgeon. Hutcheson. Leechman. Forbes. Miller. Kames. Smith. Ferguson. Church riots 181 § 11. Freethought in Ireland. Lord Molesworth. Archbishop Synge. Bishop Clayton 188 § 12. Situation in England in 1750. Richardson's lament. Middleton. Deism among the clergy. Sykes. The deistic evolution 190 § 13. Materialism. La Mettrie. Shifting of the social centre: socio-political forces. Gray's avowal. Hume's estimate. Goldsmith's. The later deism. Bolingbroke 194 § 14. Diderot's diagnosis. Influence of Voltaire. Chatterton. Low state of popular culture. Prosecutions of poor freethinkers. Jacob Ilive. Peter Annet. Later deistic literature. Unitarianism. Evanson. Tomkyns. Watts. Lardner. Priestley. Toulmin. D. Williams 198 § 15. Gibbon. Spread of unbelief. The creed of the younger Pitt. Fox. Geology. Hutton. Cowper's and Paley's complaints. Erasmus Darwin. Mary Wollstonecraft 203 § 16. Burns and Scotland 208 § 17. Panic and reaction after the French Revolution. New aristocratic orthodoxy. Thomas Paine. New democratic freethought 209

Chap. XVII--French Freethought in the Eighteenth Century

1. Boulainvilliers. Strifes in the Church. Fénelon and Ramsay. Fanaticism at court. New freethinking. Gilbert. Tyssot de Patot. Deslandes. Persecution of Protestants 213 2. Output of apologetics 214 3. The political situation 216 4. Huard and Huet 216 5. Montesquieu 217 6. Jean Meslier 219 7. Freethinking priests. Pleas for toleration. Boindin 221 8. Voltaire 222 9. Errors as to the course of development 224 10. Voltaire's character and influence 229 11. Progress of tolerance. Marie Huber. Resistance of bigotry. De Prades. The Encyclopédie. Fontenelle as censor 233 12. Chronological outline of the literary movement 236 13. New politics. The less famous freethinkers: Burigny; Fontenelle; De Brosses; Meister; Vauvenargues; Mirabaud; Fréret 244 14. N.-A. Boulanger. Dumarsais. Prémontval. Solidity of much of the French product 246 15. General anonymity of the freethinkers. The orthodox defence 250 16. The prominent freethinkers. Rousseau 253 17. Astruc 256 18. Freethought in the Académie. Beginnings in classical research. Emergence of anti-clericalism. D'Argenson's notes 257 19. The affair of Pompignan 258 20. Marmontel's Bélisaire 259 21. The scientific movement: La Mettrie 260 22. Study of Nature. Fontenelle. Lenglet du Fresnoy. De Maillet's Telliamed. Mirabaud. Resistance of Voltaire to the new ideas. Switzerland. Buffon and the Church 262 23. Maupertuis. Diderot. Condillac. Robinet. Helvétius 264 24. Diderot's doctrines and influence 267 25. D'Alembert and d'Holbach 271 26. Freethought and the Revolution 273 27. The conventional myth and the facts. Necker. Abbé Grégoire. The argument of Michelet. The legend of the Goddess of Reason. Sacrilege in the English and French Revolutions. Hébert. Danton. Chaumette. Clootz. The atheist Salaville 274 28. Religious and political forces of revolt. The polemic of Rivarol 280 29. The political causation. Rebellion in the ages of faith 281 30. The polemic of Mallet du Pan. Saner views of Barante. Freethinkers and orthodox in each political camp. Mably. Voltaire. D'Holbach. Rousseau. Diderot. Orthodoxy of the mass. The thesis of Chamfort 284 31. The reign of persecution 289 32. Orthodox lovers of tolerance 291 33. Napoleon 292