La Mothe Le Vayer taking inspiration from the “gentle Lucian”
Roche, Bruno
La Mothe Le Vayer taking inspiration from the “gentle Lucian” - 2020.
19
La Mothe Le Vayer was long considered a mere quote compiler. The “Gentil Lucien” – “gentle Lucian” as he calls the Samosatian satirist – seems at first a background reference he often indulges in mentioning in order to enhance his thoughts. Yet Lucian can also be considered “gentile” in a pagan sense, and he inspired our presumed quote compiler (who adopted his libertine mindset) to write assertions that, when considered as a whole, turn out to be virulently anti-Christian. Using this seemingly innocent nickname, La Mothe Le Vayer still allows himself the palinode: such a “gentle” inspiration would not result in a “bad” book, he argues with some duplicity.
La Mothe Le Vayer taking inspiration from the “gentle Lucian” - 2020.
19
La Mothe Le Vayer was long considered a mere quote compiler. The “Gentil Lucien” – “gentle Lucian” as he calls the Samosatian satirist – seems at first a background reference he often indulges in mentioning in order to enhance his thoughts. Yet Lucian can also be considered “gentile” in a pagan sense, and he inspired our presumed quote compiler (who adopted his libertine mindset) to write assertions that, when considered as a whole, turn out to be virulently anti-Christian. Using this seemingly innocent nickname, La Mothe Le Vayer still allows himself the palinode: such a “gentle” inspiration would not result in a “bad” book, he argues with some duplicity.
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