Baron D'holbach : a Study of Eighteenth Century Radicalism in France

orks 26 Translations of German Scientific Works 27 Translations of English Deistical Writers 31 Boulanger s Antiquite devoilee 36 Original Works Le Christianisme devoilee 38 Theologie portative 43 La Contagion sacree 46 Essai sur les prejuges 49 Le bon-sens 51 CHAPTER dill. THE Systeme de la Nature AND ITS PHI- OSOPHY 54 Voltaire s correspondence on the subject 56 Goethe s sentiment 58 Refutations and criticisms 59 Holbach s philosophy 65 APPENDIX. HOLBACH S CORRESPONDENCE . . . . 70 Five unpublished letters to John Wilkes 75 BIBLIOGRAPHY. Part I. Editions of Holbach s Works in Chronological Order 85 Part II. General Bibliography 104 BARON D HOLBACH A une extreme justesse d esprit il joignait une simplicite de moeurs tout-d- fait antique et patriarcale. J. A. NAIGEON, Journal de Paris, le 9 fev. 1789 INTRODUCTION DIDEROT, writing to the Princess Dashkoff in 1771, thus analysed the spirit of his century Chaque siecle a son esprit qui le caracterise. L esprit du notre semble etre celui de la liberte. La premiere attaque centre la superstition a ete violente, sans mesure. Une fois que les hommes ont ose d une maniere quelconque donner 1 assaut a la barriere de la religion, cette barriere la plus formid able qui existe comme la plus respectee, il est impossible de s arreter. Des qu ils ont tourne des regards menagants contre la majeste du ciel, ils ne manqueront pas le moment d apres de les diriger contre la souverainete de la terre. Le cable qui 1 une tient et comprime 1 humanite est forme de deux cordes, ne peut ceder sans que 1 autre vienne a rompre. 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 movel- ment has been so obscured by the less thoroughgoingtendency 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 un compromising clearness, and who still occupies a unique though obscure position in the history of thought. 1 Diderot, Oeumes, ed. Assezat et Tourneux, Vol. XX, p. 28. i 2 BARON DHOLBACH Holbach has been very much neglected by writers on the eighteenth century. He has no biographer. M. Walferdin wrote in an edition of Diderot s Works, Paris, 1821, Vol. XII p. 115 quotNous nous occupons depuis longtemps a rassembler les materiaux qui doivent servir a venger la me- moire du philosophe de la patrie de Leibnitz, et dans 1 ouv- sous le titreDHol- rage que nous nous proposons de publier bach juge par ses contemporains nous esperons faire juste- ment apprecier ce savant si estimable par la profondeur et la variete de ses connaissances, si precieux a sa famille et a ses amis par la purete et la simplicite de ses moeurs, en qui la vertu etait devenue une habitude et la bienfaisance un besoin.quot This work has never appeared and M. Tourneux thinks that nothing of it was found among M. Walferdin s papers. 2 In 1834 Mr... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.