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Having been responsible for some of the finest universal histories, at the start of the 17th century, the Jesuits developed historical analyses that were based on their theology of grace and characterised by a rich humanism. With apologetic and missionary aims in mind, these analyses were generally directed against Port-Royal Augustinianism, although were sometimes developed in proximity to positions taken up by freethinkers as well. The present article recalls issues concerning the virtues practiced by the pagans and merely moral virtues, the Chinese rites controversy, philosophical sin and the status of pagan philosophers. The bold analyses of these Jesuits are a testimony to their open-mindedness. And yet, unbeknown to the authors themselves, their adventurousness signals a progression towards the Enlightenment and secular morality.