M. P. Cushing's scholarly study of the life and works of Paul Heinrich Dietrich, Baron d'Holbach, the noted eighteenth century Prussian-French polymath, includes the events of his life, his many and varied publications, many of which were published pseudonymously to avoid scandal, the controversies stirred up by has forthright atheism, examples of his correspondence and an extensive bibliography. The text of this new edition from Benediction Classics has been carefully hand-edited, and to assist the reader, translations of the many French quotations, and the long German passage from Goethe, have been added.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger PublishingAcentsa -a centss Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for e

Max Pearson Cushing (1886-1951) was an American professor, author and choirmaster. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1909, received an A. M. from Columbia University in 1912 and a Ph. D. from there in 1914. He worked in intelligence during World War I. He was the author of: Baron D'Holbach: A Study of Eighteenth Century Radicalism in France (1914). "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."

BARON D'HOLBACH A STUDY OF EIGHTEENTH CENTURY RADICALISM IN FRANCE BY MAX PEARSON GUSHING SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, - TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE INTRODUCTION i CHAPTER I. HOLBACH, THE MAN 5 Early letters to John Wilkes 6 Holbach s family Relations with Diderot, Rousseau, Hume, Garrick 12 and other important persons of the century 15 Estimate of Holbach. His character and personality. 21 CHAPTER II. HOLBACH S WORKS 26 Miscellaneous Works 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 plusformid 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 bachjuge 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 scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!