Baron d'Holbach : a Study of Eighteenth Century Radicalism in France

Baron d'Holbach : a Study of Eighteenth Century Radicalism in France

Diderot, writing to the Princess Dashkoff in 1771, thus analysed the spirit of his century: Chaque sicle a son esprit qui le caractrise. L'esprit du ntre semble tre celui de la libert. La premire attaque contre la superstition a t violente, sans mesure. Une fois que les hommes ont os d'une manire quelconque donner l'assaut la barrire de la religion, cette barrire la plus formidable qui existe comme la plus respecte, il est impossible de s'arrter. Ds qu'ils ont tourn des regards menaants contre la majest du ciel, ils ne manqueront pas le moment d'aprs de les diriger contre la souverainet de la terre. Le cble qui tient et comprime l'humanit est form de deux cordes, l'une ne peut cder sans que l'autre vienne rompre. [Endnote 1:1] The following study proposes to deal with this attack on religion that preceded and helped to prepare the French Revolution. Similar phenomena are by no means rare in the annals of history; eighteenth-century atheism, however, is of especial interest, standing as it does at the end of a long period of theological and ecclesiastical disintegration and prophesying a reconstruction of society on a purely rational and naturalistic basis. The anti-theistic movement has been so obscured by the less thoroughgoing tendency of deism and by subsequent romanticism that the real issue in the eighteenth century has been largely lost from view. Hence it has seemed fit to center this study about the man who stated the situation with the most unmistakable and uncompromising clearness, and who still occupies a unique though obscure position in the history of thought. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 5621
Author: Cushing, Max Pearson
Release Date: May 1, 2004
Format: eBook
Language: English