THE INFLUENCE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT UPON THE FRENCH HUGUENOTS IN THE LATTER HALF OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY Theta ‘09 {'59 Dear“ o§ M. A. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY John D, W-oodbridge £965 LIB RAR Y Michigan State m u... E H T» University ‘ » “$3.51“. ”Avg-A Illmhhui‘..,$.. ; ‘v 4!: .AV 7 ...... ‘ 11368295352595 THE INFLUENCE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT UPON THE FRENCH HUGUENOTS IN THE LATTER HALF OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY By John D. Woodbridge AN ABSTRACT OF A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTERS OF ARTS Department of History 1965 ABSTRACT THE INFLUENCE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT UPON THE FRENCH HUGUENOTS IN THE LATTER HALF OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY by John D. Woodbridge The French Huguenots in the latter half of the 18th century found themselves in a paradoxical position. They were no longer per— secuted as intensely as their forebears under Louis XIV, for a popular sentiment for religious toleration was gradually sweeping through France. Many Calvinists were becoming socially respectable as literate and financially solvent individuals. Yet there were increasingly frequent signs that something was amiss in the Huguenot Church. As harbingers of danger several Calvinistic pastors gave warnings concerning the grow- ing spirit of irreligion in the Calvinist ranks. Church membership was on the decline as many Huguenot parishoners discovered that this secular world had much to offer, now that persecution was abating. The Calvin— istic Church was in the throes of a change. It is interesting to note that this metamorphosis commenced almost“! exactly with the inception of an Huguenot "alliance" with the French philosophers of the Enlightenment, or the "philosophes." This "alliance,"- instituted for the purpose of combatting religious intolerance, came about in the famous Calas Case of 1762—1765 during which Huguenots and "philosophes” worked together in a common cause—~the exculpation of the name of one Jean Calas, a Calvinist, convicted and executed for the supposed murder of his son.\ "' John D. Woodbridge The purpose of this study is to exandne the relation between the Huguenots and ”philosophes“ to see what influences the philosophers exerted upon the Calvinists. Our means of discovering these various influences is by an evaluation of several types of primary and secondary source materials: 1. The "philosophes'" correspondence 2. The cor-.7 respondence of both Calvinist pastors and church members 3. The Hugue- not pastors' extant sermons h. The records of Calvinist synods S. The books and articles of learned scholars. { From our analysis we learn that the "philosophes'" influence upon the Calvinist Church was one of several causes of the paradoxical condition of the Huguenots on the eve of the French Revolution. At that time the Calvinists won at last a formal victory over intolerance in the Edict of Toleration of 1787. However the value of this victory was greatly diminished in that the Calvinist Church found itself in serious straits on that great occasion. It is indeed an interesting fact that the "philosophes'" influences contributed both to the "victory" and"decline”of the Huguenot Church on the eve of the French Revolution. THE INFLUENCE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT UPON THE FRENCH HUGUENOTS IN THE LATTER HALF OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY By John D. Woodbridge A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTERS OF ARTS Department of History 1965 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author wishes to take this opportunity to express his sincere appreciation for the guidance and encouragement during this study extended by Dr. John B. Harrison, Professor of History, Michigan State University. He would also like to express his gratitude to Dr. Jacques Godechot, Dean of the Faculty of Human Letters and Sciences, University of Toulouse, France, for helpful suggestions relating to appropriate source materials for this paper. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii Chapter I THE "ALLIANCE" FORMED BETWEEN THE FRENCH HUGUENOTS AND PHILOSOPHERS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT. . . . . 1 II THE INFLUENCE OF THE "PHILOSOPHES" UPON THE HUGUE- NOT PASTORS. . e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 III THE INFLUENCE OF THE ”PHILOSOPHES" UPON THE HUGUE- NOT CHURCH ON THE EVE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 59 IV CONCLUSIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 BIBLIOGRAPHICAI.NOTE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 iii GMRERI THE "ALLIANCE" FORMED BETWEEN THE FRENCH HUGUENOTS AND PHILOSOPHERS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT One of the marks which distinguished French society in the latter half of the 18th century was the presence of a group of writers and thinkers variously called the ”philosophes," or "lumigres." A roll— call of the members of this group reads like a Who's Who of important French "philsophers:" Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, Baron d'Holbach, d'Alembert, and Montesquieu to name but a few. The era with which the "philosophes" were associated was known as the Enlightenment. In their view, the Enlightenment represented a breakthrough from the darkness of ignorance and superstition to the bright day of rationality and hope concerning man's perfectability. The influence of the "philosophes" permeated much of French society. Many members of the nobility, some teachers in the univer— sities, and even a small portion of the Roman Catholic clergy were at- tracted as if by a magnet to the new thinking.1 Yet it is the purpose of our study to determine what if any influence the "philosophes” exerted upon a pariah class of French society, the Huguenots, during the latter half of the 18th century. 1Camille Rabaud, "Lasource, Deputé'a la Législative et E la Con- vention," Bulletin de la Société de l'histoire du Protestantisme francais, XXXVIII (1889), 27. Hereafter cited as BPF. It shall be our methodology to attempt to validate by sound doc- umentation three theses concerning the influence of the "philosophes" upon the Huguenots. The theses are: l. The French Calvinists were indeed significantly influenced by the philosophers of the Enlightenment. 2. Although there were several factors which seemingly made an "alliance" between the Huguenots and "philosophes" appear unlikely, the "philosophes” gave both indirect and direct aid to the Calvinists in the initial phase of their struggle for religious toleration and civil rights. 3. Daz- fi. ___‘_‘_“ zled by the brilliance of the Enlightenment, Protestant pastors often trafficked in"philosophic"inquiries, little realizing the dangers this practice would bring to their religion. In conclusion, our methodology dictates that we respond to the pivotal question: What was the impact of the "philosophes" influence upon the French CalvinisETChurch in the latter half of the 18th hentury? But before we begin it is necessary to lay some groundwork for our discussion by clarifying what we mean by the word "philosophe." To define the term "philosophe" can be a rather challenging business. Perhaps a more worthwhile clarification is accomplished by a descrip- tion of what the "philosophes" chief concern might be. According to Sir Isaiah Berlin, the central dream of the "philosophes" was a demon- stration that everything in the world moved by mechanical means, that . all evils could be cured by appropriate technological steps, that there could exist engineers both of human souls and of human bodies.2 2Sir Isaiah Berlin, The Age of Enlightenment: The 18th Century Philosophers (New York, 1956), p. 29. 3 In a different vein the Enlightenment scholar, Renee Waldinger, makes another necessary clarification when she cautions that the French ”philosophes" were not philosophers per se who formulated definite coherent philosophical Systems.3 Rather, most of them were concerned with the immediate problems of disgraces to human dignity under the Ancien Regime--problems which caused their pens to move with new fury. One such issue was to be that of toleration for Huguenot worship and civil liberties. The impact of the philosophers' thinking struck deep into the heart of French society. Horace Walpole, the English parlimentarian, remarked in 1765, “Almost everyone in Paris is a Philosophe."4 The great German writer, Goethe, expressed similar sentiments in a state- uent to Eckermann, "You have no idea of the influence which Voltaire and his great contemporaries possessed in my youth, and how they dom- inated the whole civilized world."5 The reign of the ”philosophes" had begun in 1748 when Montesquieu's Esprit des Lois was published.6 At first the philosophers were distaste- ful to conservative French society. Their writings were considered 3Renée Waldinger, Voltaire and Reform in the Light of the French Revolution (Cedeve, 1959), p. 15. “G. P. Gooch, Louis XV, the Monarchy in Decline (London, 1956), p. 267. 5Ibid., p. 268. 61bid. a dangerous and provocative of social unrest. However, after mid—century an Enlightenment thinker or publicist was rarely molested because he believed in toleration, progress, and man's rational capabilities.7 The reign of the "philosophes" lasted some thirty or forty years. France was wonder—struck by the brilliance of the Enlightenment which the "philosophes" proferred to her. _.—-"\ (;But,as stated,it is our intention to see whether the "philosophes," a who so thoroughly influenced French society, likewise affected the for- tunes and thinking of the French Calvinists, or Huguenots. These latter -..-—-.-..—-—_— individuals composed a second-class citenzery which most Frenchmen simply tried to ignore. They were remnants of the Protestant minority whose blood along with Roman Catholic blood had stained French soil red during the 16th century religious wars. As a minority religion in a country where the monarch Francis I declared that there would be one king, one law, and one religion, the French Huguenots were a persecuted and unwanted century through the 18th was their plea for toleration. From the 16th century high nobility of FranCe with its outstanding leader Gaspard de Coligny, the stern Calvinist, to the backward shepherdess girl of Crest leading peasant worship during the War of the Camisards (1702-1704), to Rabaut Saint—Etienne, the eloquent Protestant pastor of the French . Revolution—-the theme reverberated, a call for freedom of worgETp? Except during a respite of less than one hundred years, 1598 to 1685, or the Edict of Nantes to its Revocation, the Huguenots possessed no 7Gordon.Wright, France in Modern Times, 1760 to the present (Chicago, 1960), p. 35. T religious liberty. And yet by the turn of the second half of the 18th century, these Huguenots possessed a population of nearly 600,000 individuals, living mainly as peasants in the peripheral regions of southern France where there had long been a tradition of antagonism to Roman Catholicism.8 Toleration was essential if these Protestants were to emerge as useful citizens of France and as free individuals to wor- ship God in their own peculiar way without fear of reprisal. What in:F1 I’d...- fluence would the ”philosophic” authors of the Enlightenment have upon thTsmwar-weary tribe of political and religious out-castes which com- posed but one—fortieth of the total French population? Wherea§_the status of the "philosophes" was climbing rapidly at the commencement of the second half of the 18th century, the general position of the Huguenots remained that of a people still unwanted. As David Bien has noted in his book, The Calas Affair, the Huguenots possessed a toleration of indifference but not one of doctrine.9 The Huguenots possessed this toleration of indifference for several reasons. The bloody persecution of the first half of the 18th century had caused no overwhelming Roman Catholic victory. Rather than passing into oblivion,the Protestant Church was experiencing a revival of sorts even though it remained quite weak. Furthermore the French monarchs in the eighteenth century really had no desire to force the religious unity which Louis XIV had so desperately attempted to achieve. 8N. Weiss, "Statistique du Protestantisme francais en 1760," BPF, XXXV (1886), 473. 9David B. Bien, The Calas Affair (Princeton, 1960), p. 28. Hereafter cited as Bien. 9, The responsibility for keeping the religious equilibrium desired by the state was in the hands of the secretary of state in charge of the deparéhent des affaires generales de la religion pretendue reformee.10 For some fifty years, 1725-1775, the vacillating, inept, Saint Florentin I attempted to keep the religious struggle to a simmer in France. His instructions to the intendant sent into Languedoc indicated the concilia- tory nature of his containment policy. "The rule which you ought to hold in regard to the 'religionnaires' ought to be tempered with firm— ness and condescension. You must contain them.without having them re- volt, using authority without compromising it, dissimulating opportunity, more threatening than punishing, and in a word, reverting back to the means which were employed during the last war of which the success has justified its wisdom. . ."11 Moderation with firmness was to be the policy of the state. The fact that the government was more lenient with the Calvinists was recognized by observers. Rousseau wrote on May 18, 1764, to Monsieur / Foulquier, a member of the Protestant committee of Lausanne, that,(VIt L,L. tame, seems to me that for someg the government of France, enlightened by good writings, has drawn fairly near a tacit tolerance in favor of the Protestants. . . "12 Evidently Rousseau believed that for some time K‘- the government secretly approved a pseudo-toleration for the Calvinists. 10Char1es H. Pouthas, "Guizot etla tradition du Désert,” La Revue Historique, 169 (Janvier—Juin, 1932), 55. 11”Les Protestants sous Louis XV," BPF, XVIII (1869), 435. 12"Correspondance inédite de J.-J. Rousseau Au sujet des protestants de France persecutés, 1764,” BPF, III (1855), 328. It is interesting to evaluate the reason Rousseau thought the government allowed this token toleration. According to him, it was because the state was enlightened by good writings--most assuredly 1 referring to his own and those of other ”philosophesjf In other words Rousseau assumed that the "philosophes" were to a EErtain degree res- ponsible for a reduction of the intensity of Protestant persecution. However, as we shall see, the ”philosophes” were to give more direct aid in the famous Calas Case. But it is important to recognize this preliminary indirect influence-—our first example of the "philosophes" influence upon the Huguenots. Moreover there were other good reasons which caused the govern- rment to be wary of treading too heavily upon the Protestants. The Ckalvinists of the 18th century France were not as a group the powerful irisurgents as were their forebearers during the sixteenth century who sscndght to render France Calvinistic. They had learned through bitter (eacpxerience that the road of sedition lead to destruction and consequently they were loathe to undertake rebellion once again. In fact, Protestants (>13 nnid-eighteenth-century France repeatedly affirmed their allegiance 1:<> tzhe King. When Louis xv was very 111 in 1744, the Calvinists prayed en masse for his recovery.13 In consequence the monarchy wanted to let ‘VEEIJI enough alone without upsetting the religious peace. It tried to . ifigrusre the Protestants, treating them as unlovely relatives. The monarch's last calculated purge of the Protestants had ended by 1752. / 13Charles Dardier, "Le Centenaire de 1' Edit de Tolerance de 1787," EEEE:, XXXVI (1887), 508, .3... . .. . 8 Nonetheless the Calv1nists, although not intensely persecuted, s\‘—_‘ were still subject to restrictions which made their lives miserable. A list of these restrictions demonstrates the difficulty of their con- dition. An ambiguity which was encompassed in the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes had been eliminated by a more harsh edict of 1715.14 \ This latter edict declared that any person who lived in France, by virtuep of living there, was a Roman Catholic since Roman Catholicism was the only religion allowed in France. Consequently any Frenchman who did not receive the last sacrament could suffer the indignity of having his 1 body desecrated and his property confiscated. Other laws declared that (Salvinist pastors could lose their lives if they were caught bearing x earns at the outlawed Protestant religious gatherings. Men could be and paezre sent to the galleys for attending Protestant Services. Public (orifice, the law and medical professions, were closed to Protestants. \ ’ITier Calvinists lived under the constant fear that the laxness with which ttiifis anti—Protestant legislation was enforced might be suddenly replaced by a tougher policy.15 The focus of anti—Protestant rulings centered upon the institution (of ‘tlie family.16 The only marriages which were valid in France were thxos:e2 upon which the Roman Catholic Church placed its stamp of approval. A va 1 id marriage in the eyes of the law was ore performed by a priest. -Th*13', couples married by a Protestant pastor were living in sin. The °ff331>ring from these marriages were considered bastards and had no legal 14Edmund Hugues, Les Synodes du Desert, Vol. I (Paris, 1891), PP. 355—356. 15Dardier, BPF, XXXVI, 512. 151bid., p. 506. right of inheritance. It was required by law that these babes be baptized by a Catholic priest within 24 hours. They could be taken away from their parents for what the state considered proper Christian rearing. Furthermore the Declaration du Roy. . . 1e 14 mai, 1724, stipulated that when a Protestant child was of age, his family was held responsible for his daily attendance at Catholic schools and Sunday mass.17 Perhaps a concrete illustration of the way this legislation affected the lives of some Protestants who fell under its sway would l'l' 'that be appropriate at this time. It wasnot unti1*the Tour de Constance, a favorite repository of Protestant heretics, was emptied of its prisoners.18 Two years earlier one Chevaliercle Bouffleus visited the Tour where he found fourteen women, the youngest of whom was 50 years old. The con- dition in which these poor wretches lived was abominable. One Marie Durand had been imprisoned for thirty years merely because she was the sister of a pastor, Pierre Durand, who back in 1730 had been captured and executed at Montpellier.19 Bouffleus discovered scratches on the shaft opening to the lower room of the Tour. Tradition says that Marie had inscribed these letters there with a knitting needle —- "R.E.C.I.S. ’T.E.Z." Although mis—spelled they sum up the sentiments of the Calvin- ists of the first half of the 18th century, who although untaught, 17Burdette C. Poland, French Protestantism and the French Revolu— 't ion, A Study in Church and State, Thought and Religion, 1685—1815 (JPrinceton, 1957), p. 72. Hereafter cited as Poland. 18Henry M. Baird, The Huguenots of the "Desert," A Report to the Iinguenot Society, November 15, 1888. (State Historical Society of Wis- eOnsin) , p. 25. 19Ibid. 10 persecuted, and maligned for their faith, stood firm for the traditions of their Calvinistic fathers. It will be interesting to note what stance their counterparts took in the latter half of the 18th century as times became easier for Calvinists and the influence of the ”philos— ophes" made its impact upon their thinking. .K Yet,in general,persecution was definitely subsiding.20 The last execution of a Protestant in France occurred in 1762 when Jean Calas was put to death in Toulouse. It was Voltaire's post-mortem defense of Calas which rocked France and helped the Protestants in that legis- lation against them.was even less rigorously enforced. We shall comment later on the Calas Case for it was the first concrete instance in vflnich "philoséphes" directly aided the Huguenots and influenced their taid.for toleration. There were several significant stages to this subsidence of :2? {3621‘secution. In 1767 Pastor Berenger was condemned to death in Grenoble, t>L1tz the growing stirrings for toleration amamgthe town officials brought Eit>()14t his release.21 The yea; 1770 witnessed the freeing of the Protes- tat-1t ‘prisoners from the infamous galleys of Toulon where many a Protes- ‘téat1rt young man had spent his youth shackled in iron—-the muscle power iECDIT the King's ships.22 Three years later another minister, Pastor BrOca, was arrested but was freed because the spirit of toleration was 20Charles Coquerel, Histoire des eglises du ddsert, thez les laiisitestants de France depuis la fin de Louis XIngusquEa 15 revolution gnrancaise, Vol. II (Geflve, 1841), pp. 510, S33. Hereafter cited as (:CXquerel. 211bid., p. 511. 221bid., p. 540. 11 making such headway in France. Broca was the last pastor to be ar- rested in France before the Revolution.23 However until 1783 Protes- tant children were put in Roman Catholic schools against the wills of their Protestant parents.zu Why were there even these vestiges of persecution against the Huguenots if the Monarchy was satisfied to give them tacit toleration? The answer to this question centers in the heated opposition which the Roman Catholic clergy offered to the Calvinists. The Calvinists re— mained utterly despicable in the eyes of some prelates who constantly urged their extirpation. At the General Assembly of Paris, the very . . . I . . influential Archbishop Lomenie de Brienne of Toulouse as late as Septem— laer 19, 1775, asked Louis the XVI to initiate the final stroke of Protes- ‘taant eradication. "You disapprove the counsel of a false peace, the ss373tems of an unworthy peace. We entreat you concerning it, Sire, do r1c>tz defer to remove by error the hope among us of temples and of altars; aacici to the work that Louis le Grand had undertaken and Louis 1e Bien- AtiLnné has continued. It is reserved for you to strike the last blow £31: Calvinism in our States; order that they disperse their Protestant 53(21115matic assemblies; exclude the sectaries without distinction from a:]_]_ branches of public administration, and you will assure among your 5511t>jects the unity of a veritable Christian culture."25 This type of SeE‘ntiment, yet quite prevalent, necessitated that the Protestants con— 'tfiit1ue their open campaign for toleration.‘ -—____ 2311133., p. 534. zuDardier, 22F.» XXXVI, 516. 2SCoquerel, II, 536. 1&1 J A difficult question loomed large in the Huguenots' thinking I at this point. How were they to gain the last excruciating step in their “.__——— centuries' old struggle for religious toleration? It had become ap- parent that the endless petitions the Calvinists addressed to the royalty had precipitated no positive prOgram of reform in behalf of the Huguenots. Although Louis XV allowed some toleration to the Huguenots in order to keep peace in his realm, he was not their true friend. \ \ \. \. ngn The Huguenots needed outside assistance--someone or group to plead ~,/ pg) their cause in France. It would have to be a unique activating body tdhich could gain a hearing in the courts of royalty, in the salons of 'the nobility, and in the cities: The candidates for this position were fkaw. As already noted, both the monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church VJerre disqualified: Almmst by chance the lot was to fall to the French ";>riilosophes." In consequence, secular philosophers and God-oriented Ca lvinists formed warm friendships joined by a common cause. But how was it that this "alliance” came about? Although the} ills“ V/Vfi PIIIL losophers represented themselves as foes of all intolerance, they dZLci not possess a tradition of friendship with the Huguenots. In f£3<21t, many French Huguenot pastors were openly antagonistic to them 311<3 not without cause. For Roman Catholic scholars had employed arguments deleted from Montesquieu's Esprit des Lois and Voltaire's SiEcle de ‘}E<>Llis XIV in whizh these authors associated Protestantism (Calvinism) V°i¥t11 the republican spirit--or the spirit of rebellion against the king. UPC) rmactical implications of these principles by causing the desolation of ‘Iaaliguedoc, a heavily Protestant province, in 1753.28 Naturally Protestants developed some hostility and bitterness tLilouse was a focal point for religious intolerance. In this commercial cri;t:y of picturesque buildings lived one Jean Calas whose business was IDIfiilnted muslins and calicoes for ladies' dresses and soft furnishings. (36311.83 was a Huguenot living with his wife, four sons, and two daughters, in a strongly Roman Catholic city. Calas' first-born son, Marc Antoine, had a love for books but CiiJS liked the world of commerce. Marc aspired to be called to the Bar. Before he could do so, he needed to obtain a certificate of his Catholic- :Ltlb'. His request was refused by the Roman Catholic Church in that his 29Coquerel, II, 197, 15 family background was Huguenot, an evidence of anti-Protestant legisla— tion lingering in the year 1761. Nonetheless Marc remained a nominal Protestant rather than disavow his Calvinistic faith. One of Marc's younger brothers, Louis, did not remain in the Protestant fold. Upon reaching manhood, Louis apostacized his religion and became a Roman Catholic. Marc and Louis were to play important roles in the Calas tragedy which was to shake France. On October 13. 1761, several guests of the Calas' boys had come to visit the family. After eating the evening meal, Pierre, another Calas son, suggested that the guests take an evening stroll. By chance, Pierre ventured into the storeroom of the house before leaving on the tvalk. To his horrified amazement, he saw, hanging from a rope attached 't<> some folding doors, the lifeless form of his brother, Marc Antoine, clad in a shirt and breeches.3O The death of Calas’ eldest son stirred Catholic Toulouse. In t>r‘jgef, Jean Calas along with other members of his family were arrested ffc>r- the murder of Marc Antoine. According to Roman Catholic officials ttlea motive was this. Calas, the Calvinist, feared that Marc would for- fire ist his faith as his brother Louis had previously done, in order to giaiiln access to a career of good standing. Calas had conspired with other InetIlbers of the family to murder Marc so that Marc would not have the 31 OPportunity to perjure his faith. In the trial the defense suggested t1c> 110 avail that Marc Antoine had in reality committed suicide. 30Edna Nixon, Voltaire and the Calas Case (New York, 1961), p- 36. Hereafter cited as Nixon. ‘ 31Theodore Besterman (ed.), Voltaire's Correspondence, XLVIII (:Ckaneve, 1959), Letter 9622, 210. Hereafter cited as Besterman (ed.). <1 6.?) The Calas incident could not have occurred at a worse time for Protestant fortunes in Toulouse. Two months previously a Calvinist pastor, Rochette, had been executed there along with two friends. In consequence a storm of antagonism boiled up against the Huguenots. Tried in a city where intolerance against the Calvinists was at a fever pitch, Calas' fate could be but one. On March 9, 1762, a day in whflzh no Protestant dared show his face inthe streets, Jean Calas bravely met his death on the wheel.32 It was this trial and execution in which the guilt of the accused was never conclusively proven, that brought the indefatigable energy and fertile mind of Voltaire to the side of the Huguenots in their bid for toleration. _ As already indicated, many Huguenot pastors had no strong liking for Voltaire although some of them read his works with increasing in- terest. Voltaire reciprocated these sentiments for he did not cherish the representatives of the Calvinist faith. Half-jokingly, Voltaire Iioted that he could not like men who were the enemies of the theatre-- xvho contributed nothing to the Enlightenment which was dear to his soul.33 In a letter to the Protestant Pastor Debrus, Voltaire let fly yvith some rather pointed barbs at the Calvinists. "I will say more, 1:his affair (Calas) is very likely to cause you Huguenots to obtain a 1:01eration such as you have not enjoyed since the Revocationcf the Edict 32Bien, pp. 21-23. 33A. J. Grant, The Huguenogs (London, 1934), p. 218. '17“. of Nantes. I know very well that you will be sent to perdition in L another world; but there is no reason for your being persecuted in this world."34 On another occasion, he wrote to one Louis Rene de Caradeuc de la Chatolais that, "I know very well the quality of the Huguenot, that he will be damned; but in waiting for this, he ought to have his on..—~-Iufi—-- l=U-.‘-n-..—-. -.u money in this world."35 Acerbity glossed these expressions of Voltaire deriding the Huguenots. Two important questions arise at this juncture. Why should ._-L_L‘_~\b Voltaire take such a negative attitude toward the Calvinists other than ‘rr—-—~__ihimvr- _ . the fact that they were not theatre goers? Secondly, if he did have a negative attitude toward them, why did he aid them in their bid for toleration? Both of these queries are enigmatic, but we will attempt to give some insight into their important answers. To reply to the first question it is again necessary to analyze the goals or principles of the philosophers of the Enlightenment. Carl Becker, in his work, The Heavenly City of the 18th Century Philosophers, asserted that the philosophers of the Enlightenment possessed their own religion which for them replaced traditional Roman Catholicism and IProtestantism. According to Becker, the principles of the enlightened realigion could be stated thusly: ”1. man is not naturally depraved; 2.. the end of life is life itself, the good life on earth instead of tile beatific life after death; 3. man is capable guided solely by the 1.ight of reason and experience, of perfecting the good life on earth; and4. the first and essential condition of the good life on earth is 3[J'Besterman (ed.), L,Letter 10056, 209. 351bid., IL,Letter 9790, 130. h 18' the freeing of men’s minds from the bonds of ignorance and superstition, and of their bodies from the arbitrary oppression of the constituted social authorities."36 Homocentric and this-world oriented, the new religion offered the hope of a brighter tomorrow right here on earth. It takes little discernment to recognize that this new religion was antithetical to the Calvinistic traditions of the Huguenots. Where the "philosophes” declared that man was not naturally depraved, Calvin- istic theologians asserted that man is bound to do evil, inheriting this propensity from Adam's fall. Where the Calvinists affirmed that man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, the "philos- ophes" avowed goal was to create the good life on earth through human effort. However,the supreme point of discord between the two philosophies was the "philosophe's" rejection of Jesus Christ as the revealed Son of God and Redeemer of mankind through the atonement. No balm could sooth this point of friction for orthodox Calvinists. Thus, the emphases of -.__._-. ;. .____.. .-_-.-_——-_—‘ ,— the Enlightenment and Calvinismlwere diametrically opposed. Consequently,in response to our first question, one reason Voltaire possessed a negative attitude toward the Huguenots was that his "creed” ciiffered with the Calvinists'. He did not trust the authority of the \/’ IBible because it contained too many inconsistencies.37fl Rather Voltaire f<>und his authority in man's reason, this reason being enlightened by ‘Huanfs senses.38 Imagination and emotionalism were blind leaders. 36Carl L. Becker, The Heavenly City of the Eighteenth Century E’hilosophers (New Haven: 1932-1963), pp. 102-103. 37John Viscount Morley, Voltaire (London, 1923), p. 247. Here- after cited as Morley. 38Besterman (ed.), LXXI, Letter 14469, 40. 19 Furthermore, the “philosophe” disdained individuals who claimed super— natural revelation, labeling them fakers.39 Those who believe them are dupes. A tragedy occurs in that the believers are not employing their rational capabilities, BJETEEE pathetically fideistic. Nonetheless Voltaire was a deist--wavering in the winds of doubt and skepticism. God was the Supreme Being, the author and preserver of all beings which compose the sensory world. Pragmatically speaking, a belief in God was useful in that it kept an equilibrium in a society. K::E essence Voltaire's naturalistic and deistic religion was to make an ./I impact upon the Huguenots as we shall 533;] Others of the ”philosophes" tended towards a drastic atheism which was far more subversive to traditional Christianity than Voltaire's vesti- gial theism. Formerly a deist, the ”philosophe" Baron d'Holbach drifted into atheistic beliefs. He declared that all religious principles are an affair drawn from pure imagination of which reason and experience have no part. Those unfortunate individuals who believe in God do so in opposition to the multitude of cogent proofs which negate the possibil- ity of a Supreme Being's existence.40 So sure was d'Holbach of his non— lDelief, he founded a group whose members reveled in their bold repudia- tlion of theism. A second reason Voltaire disliked the Calvinist faith was because ikts dogmatism and superstitution nearly matched that of the Roman Catholic \/ CHlurch or what he called :1Linfame:"ul For him John Calvin was just as ‘ 39Mor1ey, pp. 223, 243. “OPierre Naville, Paul Thiry D'Holbach et la philosophie scientifique 513 XVIIIe siéele (Gallimond, 1943), p. 338. “laesterman (ed.), XLVIII, Letter 9637, 232. 20 badaas Ignatius Loyola. The dogmatism and intolerance demonstrated by ._ ~\.—’ ,_ .__.__ _ __. both of these individuals affronted Voltaire's sense of toleration and justice.“2 Furthermore it was difficult for any Frenchman to forget the bloodshed and wanton cruelty associated with the Protestant Civil Wars against the Roman Catholics during the last few centuries. The reputation for fanaticism associated with this backward faith which somehow always affected a disruptive influence in France, repelled many of the "philosophes." Perhaps in these two reasons could also be found the true motiva- tion for Rousseau's refusal to aid the Protestants other than giving them advice. Unlike Voltaire and like several of his otheerhilosophich nun-n.-. _ colleagues, Rousseau sought to avoid becoming embroiled in a touchy Frau-~- r- __ I .. 1.1-- :- conflict which might mar his reputation and jolt his egotism. Monsieur Foulquier, a Calvinist from Geneva, had asked Rousseau to assist the Huguenots in the Rochette and Calas cases. Likewise, M. Jeremie de Pourtales, another Protestant, appealed in a most pressing and flattering way for Rousseau’s aid. Rousseau responded politely, but negatively ‘to the former, M. Foulquier, on December 25, 1764. "I am, Monsieur, =30 pressed, so overwhelmed, so overburdened with letters, that I am unable to throw out some ideas to you except with the greatest rapidity. 11 would like to be able to undertake a report (concerning the Huguenots) blit that is absolutely impossible and I have great regret about it, for (Ither than the pleasure of doing well, I would find it one of the most Vvorthwhile subjects which could honor the pen of an author."43 ‘ 421618., XLVIII, Letter 9596, 178. 43Théophile Dufour (ed.), Correspondence Generale de J. J. Rousseau, iXI (Paris, 1930), 166. - 21 A few months earlier the author of the Social Contract had been more explicit in detailing his refusal to M. Jeremie Pourtales' request. ”I like saying useful things,” stated Rousseau, "but I do not like to //’ repeat them; and those who must absolutely have restatements need only A to provide themselves with several copies of the same written work.[:The Protestants of France are now enjoying a rest to which I may have con-— tributed, not by vain declamations,as so many others have done, but by good political reasons well set forth; yet here they come and press me to write in their favor. This is making too much account of what I can do, or too little of what I have done. They admit that they are tranquil, but they want to be better off than well; and after I have served them with all my strength, they reproach me for not serving be— yond my strength."44 Several observations concerning this last letter would be ap- propriate. In the first place we notice that Rousseau again acknowledged that the Protestants were not being as acutely persecuted as before. Secondly, in the same breath, he continued by remarking that he may have .and probably did have some part in bringing about this tacit toleration. 111 other words Rousseau re—iterated what we have already outlined-- tliat the persecution of Calvinists was subsiding and that he at least, éis a "philosophe," had given indirect aid in bringing about this condition. 44"Correspondance inédite de J.-J. Rousseau Au sujet des protestants de France persecutés, 1764," BPF, III (1855), 326. 22 But again the excuses which Rousseau proferred to the Calvinist representatives were just that--excuses. We hazard the guess that be- hind the polite facade, Rousseau along with other "philosophes" could The \ Calvinistic Church still bore the onus of fanaticism and intellectual not stomach the thought of succouring the Protestant cause overtly. _. ___.._..______ J sophistry. “’ If this be the case, our second question becomes much more crucial to our story. Why did_Vo1taire_b§eak lances with other"philosf . r -.-_ ‘_ _,___...--"" ophic"brethren to come to the aid of the Huguenots in the Calas Case. A passage in one of his letters to a Calvinistic pastor, Ribote, seems to make the answer clear. Voltaire declared that "one would have to be a tiger not to protect these unfortunates (the Calas family) when the injustice of their sentence has been demonstratedfid”5 An injustice had been perpetrated by Roman Catholic officials, representatives of a church which Voltaire did not totally despise, but whose authoritarian and reactionary spirit held back the Enlightenment. Justice was Voltaire's all important theme but Jean Calas had quite possibly suffered an in- justice. It was for this reason that the Patriarch of Ferney came to tflie aid of the Huguenots, not because he had sympathy for the beleaguered Ca 1vinists' religion. A secondary motive which compelled Voltaire to undertake the re- I‘la‘bilitation of the Calas name was the "philosophe's" fear that France ‘Vcnild gain a bad reputation for allowing injustice in her courts. A feaw quotations would not be amiss in this connection. Writing to Charles “S"Affair de Calas: Une lettre inedite de Voltaire," BPF, XVII (1868), 399. ' p... \_-_ 23 Augustin Feriol, comte d'Argental, and Jeanne Grace Bosc du Bouchet, comtess d'Argental, Voltaire stated his case this way. "You will ask of me perhaps my divine angels, why I am so strongly interested in this Calas who was put to death on the wheel. It is that I am a man, it is that I see all foreigners indignant, it is that all your Swiss Protes- tant officers say that they will not fight with great heart for a nation which breaks upon the wheel their brothers without proof.“46 On the same day, March 27, 1762, Voltaire very graphically set forth the same thoughts to Espeir de Chazel. "Here Monsieur is what they say, what they write, and that which fills all foreigners with indignation and pity. They remember so many disturbing judgments which slaughtered innocence with the poignard of justice. They cry out that we are an odious, intolerant,and superstitious nation, as atrocious as frivolous, which passes from St. Barthelomew's Massacre to the comic opera, which knows how to break the innocent on the wheel and which knows how to struggle neither upon the sea nor upon the land."‘~‘7 Onceagain correspond— ing with Augustin Feriol, comte.Argental, a few months later, May 15, 1762, Voltaire re-iterated his concern for Frances damaged reputation, rust continued by giving his own personal call to action. Referring to tile Calas Case, Voltaire asserted, "All that is so unlawful, and the Slpirit of faction, makes itself felt to such a degree in this horrible 46Besterman (ed.), XLVIII, Letter 9590, 171. 47Ibid., XLVIII, Letter 9592, 174. 24 adventure, foreigners are so scandalized, that it is inconceivable that M. the Chancelor did not repudiate this strange arrest. If ever the truth ought to be enlightened, it is, it seems to me, in such an occasion."48 As we shall briefly outline,Voltaire's response to his b own call wastxwfswift and skillful. His efforts affected a further improvement in the Calvinist situation in France. The Calas tragedy reached its anti—climatic nadir on March 9, 1762, when Jean Calas' hapless body was broken on the wheel. There is some debate as to which party first informed Voltaire of the incident, but we find his first allusion to Calas' death in a letter written two weeks later. It was addressed to Cardinal Francois Joachim de Pierres de Berness on March 25, 1762. In essence, Voltaire asked the Cardinal for the details of the case in that he had heard conflicting reports and was undecided as to where the guilt for the tragedy lay. "It is that they claim here that he was very innocent and that he took God They claim that three judges protested as his witness when dying. .against the arrest. This adventure grips me to the heart; it saddens tne in my pleasures; it taints them. It is necessary to regard the lPaxflement of Toulouse or the Protestants with eyes of horror."49 Unsure railthough quite concerned, Voltaire penned this first of hundreds of 1€3tters in the three year battle for the Calas family in particular and if<>r the family of man in general.SO \ 48Ibid., XLVIII, Letter 9646, 241. 49Ibid., XLVIII, Letter 9587, 166. 50123g.. LXVII, Letter 13665, 214, 25 Voltaire's indecision concerning the locus for guilt in the Calas Case was to be short—lived. He quickly gathered evidence and sifted it carefully in order to come to a position of certitude. One of his main sources of information proved to be the youngest Calas son, Donat-—a mere boy of fifteen. Voltaire, the investigator,interviewed the young lad who had journeyed to Geneva. His description of this encounter is quite touching. "I asked for young Calas to be brought to me and I expected to see the sort of fanatic his part of France so often throws up. But instead there stood before me a simple child, ingenuous, with the most gentle and interesting cast of features, who tried in vain to restrain his tears."51 The "philosophe" would not be moved by mere tears. He painstakingly weighed Donat's interpretation of what had happened that tragic night in Toulouse with other accountscf the incident. An opinion was being formed. By the month of April, 1762, Voltaire wrote to his good friends the d'Argentals in this manner. "I believe that you have said that father Calas was sixty-nine years old and that the son which they claim he hung, named Marc.Antoine,a twenty—eight year old boy, was five inches taller, very robust, the most adroit (young man) of the province. I add that the father had very weak legs for the last two years, that which I learned from one of his children (Donat) . . . A young vigorous man (Ekarc Antoine) does not let himself be taken in such a way. . ."52 51Nixon, p. 133. 52Besterman.(ed.), XLVIII, Letter 9622, 210. 26 Two months later in June of 1762, all lingering doubts had been dis- pelled. Again to the d'Argentals, Voltaire declared, "My divine angels, I am persuaded more than ever of the Calas' innocence and of the cruel good faith of the Parlement of Toulouse which has made the most dis- turbing verdict upon the most doubtfulevidence."53 The issue was settled. Now began the battle, one which was to last for three years. Voltaire labored "sans arret" for justice to the widow and the descendants of the Calas. It is reported that his loyalty to the Calas cause evoked this expression: "During that time not a smile escaped me without my reproaching myself for it, as for a crime."54 In\3ssence, Voltaire's assistance took two major forms—-publicity and pecuniary aid. The ,— first, his publicity campaign against the injustice of the court of Toulouse, was outstandingly successful. Through the vehicle of prolific/ ‘ I letter writing, Voltaire made France and other portions of Europe aware ) of the Calas incident, all this within a very short time. Even by April 27, 1762, the French court knew the story of sadness in that no.” less a person than Madame Pompadour alluded to the Calas Case with real feeling. You are right M. 1e Duc, the affair of this unfortunate Calas makes one shudder. It is regrettable that he was born a Huguenot, but that was no reason for treating him like a highwayman. It seems impossible that he could have committed the crime of which he was accused. It is contrary to Nature. 53Ibid., IL, Letter 9718, 37. 54Mor1ey, p. 16. 27 Nevertheless he is dead, and his family is dishonoured, and his judges show no signs of repentance. The kind heart of the King has much suffered on hearing about this strange adventure, and all France cries out for vengeance. The poor man will be revenged but cannot be brought back to life. These people of Toulouse are hot—headed and have more religion in their fashion than is necessary in order to be Christ- ians. Please God, they, may be converted and made more humane. Adieu, Monsieur 1e Duc, with my sincere friendship—- La Marqse de Pompadour. Versailles, April 27, 1762.55 However, this early recognition of an injustice did not mean an immediate victory for the Calas or Voltaire. The judges of Toulouse were unmoved by external pressure for a reversal of their decision. In consequence it was necessary for Voltaire to give aid in another way—-that of dipping into his own pocket for money in order to sustain the campaign against intolerance. Throughout his voluminous letters we find numerous remarks concerning the financial aspects of the undertaking.56 Finally, after three years of arduous labor aniline (unflay of large sums of money, the CaIas Case fell under the jurisdiction of one of France's most powerful courts, the M§itres des Rehuetes. This body at last helped restore France's reputation for impartial justice in that the Calas family and 57 friends were exculpated of the accusations brought against them. Voltaire rejoiced. SSBesterman (ed.), IL, Letter 9864 (trans. Edna Nixon), 220. 561bid., IL, Letter 9741, 65; Letter 9749, 71. 57Nixon, p. 193. hi L..||l| a“ "3:32.413. 28 Voltaire had good reason to be joyful. The victory of right over wrong, which he modestly attributed to philosophy alone rather than to his own efforts, had been dearly won.S8 By no means was the struggle ,_._._ over Protestant toleration concluded, but a giant step had been traversed in the right direction. Voltaire himself was to follow up the Calas Case by assisting other Huguenot causes sucah"f f Pastor Rochette, the Grenier brothers, and the Sivren brothers. Rochette was the Calvinist pastor who had been executed in Toulouse along with his would-be liberators, the Grenier brothers, just a few months before Jean Calas' death. The Sivren brothers likewise were victims of religious intolerance in France whom Voltaire defended. Although the Patriarch of Ferney never lived to see the promulgation of the Edict of Toleration of 1787 for the Huguenots, he, a "philosophe," had prepared the way for that edict. The Huguenots were not unappreciative of the philosopher’s travail in their behalf. Many of the Protestant pastors were effusive in their heartfelt thanks. Pastor Gal-Pomaret, an individual whose career we shall treat quite specifically in Chapter II, summed up the several contributions which Voltaire had made in behalf of the Huguenots and humanity. His letter was dated in the fall of 1767. ”The triumph of the Calas, your treatice on tolerance, your philosophical works, your inimitable poems are some monuments which will teach it (tolerance) to future posterity, that which ought even to conquer the present nations. ‘Hete is the great man . . . "59 Another pastor, Paul Rabaut, who had 58Ibid. 59Besterman (ed.), LXVII, Letter 13665, 214. 29 previously criticized Voltaire because the latter had associated Calvin- ism with republicanism in the Siécle de Louis XIV (see above, p. 13), made a complete about face as to his opinion of Voltaire. Writing to Pastor Paul Moultou of Geneva, Rabaut commented, "Having had the pleasure of reading some extracts from some letters which you have written to Montpellier, you will be desirous that I give witness to you that no one feels more vividly than I do, the obligations which we have to Monsieur Voltaire. If the hand which was overwhelming us has been re- leased, if we enjoy some tranquility in our country, it is to this great man that we are in debt."60 Rabaut realized that the peace which the Huguenots enjoyed was due to the efforts of the great ”philosophe." Thus Voltaire's labor had-not gone for nought-—a wrong had been righted, and the friendship and esteem of an outlawed and forsaken people had been gained. In sum we have observed that the Huguenots were indeed influenced by the ”philosophes," even entering into what David Bien has called, an "unnatural alliance,” with them.61 The Huguenots and "philosophes" were _. A..- _ .. --t- joined in this "alliance" for the common purpose of combatting religious intolerance, not because there was any tradition of friendship between ‘—._.___.. the two groups. In-fact, it was pointed out that the “philosophes'” 59Besterman (ed.). LXVII, Letter 13665, 214. 601bid., LXVIII, Letter 13860, 173. 61Bien, p. 25. 30 assistance was rather surprising, for they possessed philosophies alien to Calvinistic beliefs. Nor did the philosophers particularly cherish the Calvinists whom they considered to be still fanatical and intellectually stagnant. Yet in aiding the Huguenots both indirectly and directly, the ”philosophes" exerted a positive influence upon the Calvinists. However,the philosophers were to exert other influences upon the Huguenots, a people who so valiantly resisted the efforts of Roman Catholicism and the French Monarchy to subvert their faith. It is incumbant upon us to analyze these influences also. CHAPTER II THE INFLUENCE OF THE "PHILOSOPHES" UPON THE HUGUENOT PASTORS We have noted that the "philosophes” supported the French Protes— tants in achieving a considerable alleviation of the rigor of persecution of the Calvinists. However, in consonance with our goal-—that of analyz- ing the influencecf the "philosophes“ of the Enlightenment upon the Huguenots--we must examine other aspects of the “philosophe”--Calvinist relationship. In this regard several issues present themselves. First, was the —-— . _. _. i...__.— —- "philosophic” thought of the Enlightenment to invest itself in Huguenot thought? Secondly, by what means did Enlightenment philosophy gain entree into Protestant life and vocabulary? Thirdly, what were to be the effects or influence of this thinking upon the Calvinistic churches and pastors in the fifteen years following the Calas Case? Before we undertake to answer these questions, something must be said as to the advance of Enlightenment thought in the mother country of Calvinism—-Switzer1and. The Protestant churches of France had been traditionally dependent upon Swiss seminaries for the training of French peastors during the period of intense repression when no French seminaries existed. Thus, a life giving spiritual intercourse existed between France and Switzerland. Therefore, the trends in Swiss Protestant thought tended to influence the Huguenots of France. 31 Again the wily Voltaire is the central figure of our story of "philosophic" influence upon Calv1nist Protestants. After a disappoint- ing stay of nearly three years at the Court of Frederick the Great, the "philosophe" made his way in December of 1754 to the lovely city of Geneva, Since he still remained "persona non grata” at the Court of Louis XV.‘ Perhaps to compensate for his exile from his beloved Paris, Voltaire built a new home, Les Delices, as he called it, overlooking the city and lake. This stately mansion was to become a Walden retreat for the intellectual liberals of Geneva, achieving the title "1e palais d'un philosophe avec les jardins d'Epicure."1 But a few years later he established another residence at Ferney, just within the French border, but near enough to afford ample contact with the citizens of Calvin's republic. Enigmatic as it may first appear, Voltaire was to receive a warm welcome for his "philosophic” ideas from a most unlikely source~- several of the Calvinist pastors of Geneva. The names of his closest friends among this kindred group were Pastors Jacob Vernet, Jacob Vernes, and Paul Moultou. These individuals were second and third generation des- cendants of French and Italian dissidents who had come to Geneva for freedom of conscience.2 Under the influence of the liberal theologian, J. A. Turretini, the pastors had repudiated to a certain degree Calvin's tuardrock dogmatism and were susceptible to the deism of the Enlightenment. 1Nixon, p. 120. 21bid., p. 122. 3Ronald Grimsley, Jean D'Alembert (1717-1783) (Oxford, 1963), p. 54. Hereafter cited as Grimsley. (.3 DJ Voltaire and d'Alembert were quite sure that the ”learned Christians of Geneva” were spiritiual brothers to the philosophers of France, because both groups were concerned more with outward acts than with conformity to creeds.“ The manner in which Voltaire addressed these pastoral friends indicated the extent to which the philosopher assumed that the ministers were “philosophic“ allies.~ Writing to Pastor Vernes in 1757, he alluded to the "philogophic" spirit of the pastors: "It is not Calvin who made your religion. He had the honor of being received there, and you have in your midst some spirits more philosophical and more moderate than the ones who honor your republic."S Elsewhere he wrote to Vernes, "I find it to be a hundred times more sweet in the company of some friends enlightened like you than in all my vain works."6 But Voltaire went too far when he exclaimed, “Locke's Christianity of reason is the religion of nearly all the pastors . . ."7 Nonetheless, it is evident that the ministers of Geneva were caught in the wake of the growing Enlightenment surge throughout Europe. —_“3ean dTAlembert, the renowed mathematician, and Voltaire's close "philosophic" friend, precipitated a storm of controversy when he de- clared quite specifically the true nature of the Protestant pastors' beliefs in his article entitled “Geneve," Volume VII of the Encyclopédie. “Nixon, p. 122. 5Theodore Bestermen(ed.), Voltaire's Correspondence, XXXII (GeneVe, 1953), Letter 6835, 249. 61bid., XXXI, Letter 6431, 27. 7Nixon, p. 122. 34 Speaking of the Genevese clergy, he said, ”Several no longer believe in the divinity of Christ. . . . To say all in one word, several pas- tors of Geneva have no other religion than a perfect Socinianism."8 Continuing,d'Alemhert claimed that deism was in vogue among the Calvin— ists. “In Geneva the progress of disbelief is less to be deplored than elsewhere, and this is not surprising for religion there is reduced to the worship of a single God, at least as far as all that are not the common people is concerned; respect for Jesus Christ and for the Scrip- tures is perhaps the only thing that distinguishes the Christianity of Geneva from pure deism”9 Self-righteous and fearful, the pastors of Geneva were galled by these accusations. They asked Voltaire to request d’Alembert to retract them. Yet d'Alembert remained resolute and the article about Geneva stayed in tact in the Encyclopédie. Such was the outrage of the consistory of Geneva that it sought for and gained the support of the Sorbonne to censor the Encyclopedists. The resulting furor gave Louis XV one more reason for his prohibition of the Encyclopedic the following year, 1759. Although Voltaire and d’Alembert probably over-estimated the extent to which the Enlightenment was incorporated by the Protestant clergy of Geneva, it may be safely propounded that a liberal Christianity if not an outright deism had sunk its roots deep into Genevan soil as early as the 1750's with the French "philosophes" somewhat responsible}3 Even ten years later Voltaire's appellations were received without re- torts by the Protestant pastors. In a letter to Pastor Jacob Vernes 8C. Avezac-Lavigne, Diderot et la Societd du Baron D'Holbach-- Etudesur le XVIIIe Siécle (Paris, 1875), p. 59. 9D'Alembert and Diderot (editors), Encyclopehie, VII (Paris, l757),578. 10Grimsley, p. 54. 35 dated 1767, Voltaire declared, ”I send to you,my dear Huguenot philosopher, a sne11 philippic which I have been obliged to make.”11 This same figure Jacob Vernes, was to publish a catechism in 1776 which was censored for possessing in two or three places, ”inaccurate and indeed Socinian ex- pressions."12 AddreSSLng Pastor Moultou, "mon cher philosophe,” Voltaire asked the Protestant to write an article for an Encyclopedic journal.13 In summary, a segment of the Protestant pastors of Geneva were very sym— pathetic to the Enlightenment, some even enamored with deism. In rapture, Voltaire and other "philosophes” rejoiced that the Enlightenment was spreading so naphihrthroughout Europe to rid humanity of its supersgitionand religious bigotry. An epistle penned by Voltaire to a ”philosophic" colleague, Claude Adrien Helvetius, in 1762, reveals the degree to which Voltaire envisioned the dissemination of the Enlighten- ment. "If we have no mariners in France, we commence to have some philos— ophers, their number increasing by the very persecution; they have only to be wise, and especially united. Realize that they will triumph; the fools dread their scorn, the people of the mind will be their disciples, the light will spread in France as in England, Prussia, Switzerland, and Italy."14 Voltaire was quite confident that the liberating rays of the Enlightenment were being diffused into the stygian darkness of man's inhumanity. 11Besterman (ed.), LXXVII, Letter 13499, 1. 12Grimsley, p. 54, 13Besterman (ed.), LXXIV, Letter 15153, 90. 141bid., 1L, Letter 9834, 182—183. ‘i r, ”Md-alt!“ 36 The background to our first question is now clear. Europe was being "enlightened;” and even Switzerland, the traditional source of life-blood for the persecuted Calvinistic churches of France, showed signs of deistic infiltration. Were the ”philosophes,” the protectors of the Calas, to influence also the Huguenots of France in the same way as their Calvinist counterparts in Switzerland? This is our pivotal first query. The answer to the question is categorically in the affirmative. Evidently even by the 1750's and 1760's the spread of an irreligious spirit and deism in France disturbed both French and Swiss pastors alike. For it seemed that not only were the "philosophes" ushering in an era of comparative religious calm and toleration, but that their philosophies were beginning to undercut the Huguenot faith as well. So concerned was the Calvinist committee of Lausanne,Switzerland, about this influence, that it sent representatives into France to inquire as to the state of the Protestant churches.15 Several of these representa- tives traveled into Languedoc-—a Protestant stronghold in 1e Midi. The reflections about the religious condition of the churches there, by one of these representatives who hid under the name of Fries, are found in a letter of 1761 to Pastor Paul Rabaut. "Everywhere that I go, I see that the people here are equally frivolous and suspicious, and I am confident that it is that which you designated. I have sought the cause of it in this; more attached to religion by parhjspirit than by- feelings of the heart, they treat it on the whole as a dry rule and as 15Coquerel, II, p. 353. 37 a deathly practice, than as a force of God which grips the heart with spirit and life. It also suffices to say that if one makes an applica- tion of religion to the heart, it renders him suspect of innovation and exposes himself to suspicions of heresy and fanaticism.”16 A head knowledge of doctrine was beginning to supercede a heartfelt faith for many of the Protestants of France according to this observer. Elsewhere a contemporary townsman in the city of Montpellier, once the focal point for rabid religious controversy between Roman Catholics and Protestants, noted a change in the climate of intellectual activity. ”As to the philosophical spirit of the city, it is no longer a question of dispute over Calvinism, Molinism, and Jansenism. One cannot but agree that in their place the reading of philosophic books captivates the minds of most people to such an extent, especially among the young, that no one has ever seen so many deists as there are here today. They are peaceful in this, to be sure, and adopt the cults of any kind of religion whatsoever, without really embracing any, believing that it is enough to practice moral virtues in order to be a virtuous man (un honngte homme)."17 This was the year 1768. Voltaire was correct--France, the rest of Europe, and even the outlawed Huguenots were beginning to be influenced by the Enlightenment and its ever present moon, deism. -At this point we should ask ourselves our second important ques- tion: what was the methodology whereby the influence of the ”philosophes” permeated Huguenot thinking? The logic of the methodology which we will 161bid. 17Poland, p. 100. seek to demonstrate is as follows: 1. In due time the teachings of the Enlightenment imperceptably affected the Protestant churches, wear— ing away the firm convictions to which members of the congregations ad- hered. 2. The ”unnatural alliance,” as David Bien calls it, between the Protestants and “philosophes" signified by joint efforts in the Calas Case, re-enforced the growing trend toward Protestant toleration under the Ancien Régime.18 (::) Calvinist pastors felt a debt to Voltaire and other "philosophes" for their aid in the struggle for toleration. This feeling of gratitude subconsciously opened wide the aperture through which the philosophy of the Enlightenment entered the stream of Huguenot thought. 4. No longer harassed as severely, comparatively free from the efforts merely to survive, Huguenot pastors began to traffic in "philosophic” inquiries as the subsidence of persecution gave them new freedom. 5. The results of these "philosophic" endeavors influenced the pastors in several ways, some rejecting the new philosophy, others attempting to reconcile their Calvinist Christianity with the Enlighten- ment, while still others falling dizzily into a moderate deism. Although this is a rough schemata and undoubtedly admits to exceptions, we believe it to be in essence the manner by which"philosophic” influence permeated Huguenot thinking. Let us turn to the pastors of France themselves to demonstrate the validity of this analysis. In attempting to elucidate the means by which the "philosophes" influenced the Huguenots, the pastors' cor- respondence offers perhaps the best available tool for evaluating the pastors' experiences in this regard. 18Bien, p. 25. 39 Our attention is drawn to one of their most distinguished mem- bers--Pastor Gal-Pomaret of Ganges, whose voluminous correspondence gives us excellent insights into the workings of Calvinism at that time. Ordained in 1748, Gal—Pomaret was an eloquent preacher of up— standing character and a wide erudition which Voltaire appreciated.19 Although an ardent Calvinist, Gal—Pomaret initiated a lengthy writing relationship with Voltaire which was to last some eleven years, 1767— 1778. It is from these letters in addition to those with other pastors that we discern the prevailing theological and philosophical winds in Protestant France. Gal-Pomaret was an outstanding Huguenot spokesman and Christian. He was. widely esteemed by his fellow pastors in that the last national synod meeting in 1763 charged him to draw up the table of Scriptures which would be read each Sunday throughout the assemblies in France. Beloved by his own people, the good pastor left in the mountains of his birth a reputation for homiletical excellence associated with a warm regard for humanity as manifested in his belief in tolerance. Death took him to his eternal reward on the 17th of April, 1790, after forty- two years of apostolic works in the Church of the Desert.20 The years of his ministry witnessed both heartening and disheartening changes for the Huguenots. In a word, Gal—Pomaret's credentials re—enforce his selection as a worthy example for the verification of our theories. 19Charles Dardier, "Letters ecrites par divers pasteurs," BPF, XVIII (1869), 335. 2Orbid. 40 What was to be Pastor Gal—Pomaret's experience? His experience represented that of a minister caught in the flux of shifting opinions without any sure guideposts as to which road to follow. Along with other ministers Gal—Pomaret possessed the internal tension of realizing that the "philosophes" were both the Huguenots' friends and deadly enemies at the same time. Recognizing the benefits of the ”philosophe”- Calvinist relationship or "alliance," Gal—Pomaret wrote this poem to Voltaire in the latter's honor. We quote but the last few lines: "All good Frenchmen ought to subscribe to his; Religion is nothing. And the Protestants of France would be, without doubt, ungrateful, If from a good heart, they do not love the Apostle of tolerance, And the protector of the Calas."21 To Soulier, his good pastor friend at Sauve, Gal—Pomaret wrote in 1774, "You see after that, how many are the great obligations which we owe to him (Voltaire)."22 Elsewhere to Soulier, the pastor spelled out a definitive statement concerning Huguenot toleration coming from the "philosophes'" influence, a concept we previously sought to demonstrate. "I speak well because I believe it is due principally to the writings of the philosophegbthat we owe the toleration which we enjoy_”23 Although this toleration was only ”tacit" as Gal-Pomaret described it to Voltaire, yet conditions were improving because of the ”philosophes" efforts.24 Thus the Huguenots felt a debt to Voltaire and 2laesterman (ed.), LXVII, Letter 15627, 169. 22David Ben3it, "Les pasteurs et l'echafaud révolutionnaire, Pierre soulier, de Sauve," BPF, XLIII (1894), 579. 231bid., 571 24Besterman (ed.), LXVIII, Letter 13773, 69. 41 other “philosophes” for help in the Calas, Rochette,and Sivren cases, and for showing France the way to toleration through their writings. \ -__.. _‘_ \ <