''Theophrastus redivivus'' (meaning "The revived Theophrastus") is an

anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

-language book published on an unknown date sometime between 1600 and 1700.Hall, H. Gaston (1982). ''A Critical Bibliography of French Literature; Volume III A: The Seventeenth Century Supplement''. Syracuse University Press. pp. 369, . The book has been described as "a compendium of old arguments against religion and belief in God" and "an anthology of free thought." The work comprises

materialist Materialism is a form of philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materia ...

and

skeptical Skepticism ( US) or scepticism ( UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...

treatises from classical sources as

Pietro Pomponazzi Pietro Pomponazzi (16 September 1462 – 18 May 1525) was an Italian philosopher. He is sometimes known by his Latin name, ''Petrus Pomponatius''. Biography Pietro Pomponazzi was born in Mantua and began his education there. He completed h ...

Lucilio Vanini Lucilio Vanini (15859 February 1619), who, in his works, styled himself Giulio Cesare Vanini, was an Italian philosopher, physician and free-thinker, who was one of the first significant representatives of intellectual libertinism. He was amo ...

Michel de Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Seigneur de Montaigne ( ; ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), commonly known as Michel de Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularising the the essay ...

, Machiavelli,

Pierre Charron Pierre Charron (; 1541 – 16 November 1603) was a French Catholic theologian and major contributor to the new thought of the 17th century. He is remembered for his controversial form of skepticism and his separation of ethics from religion as a ...

, and

Gabriel Naudé Gabriel Naudé (2 February 1600 – 10 July 1653) was a French librarian and scholar. He was a prolific writer who produced works on many subjects including politics, religion, history and the supernatural. In 1627, he published an influential b ...

. According to '' Brill's Encyclopaedia of the Neo-Latin World'', the ''Theophrastus redivivus'' is "a comprehensive statement of atheism and materialism that seems, in effect, timeless. Unlocalized in time or place, Latin confers a kind of scandalous universality or ubiquity on the most heterodox propositions."

''Theophrastus redivivus'' is famous for proclaiming that all the great philosophers, including the eponymous

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; ; c. 371 – c. 287 BC) was an ancient Greek Philosophy, philosopher and Natural history, naturalist. A native of Eresos in Lesbos, he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum, the ...

(ancient Greek philosopher c. 371 – c. 287 BCE, successor of

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

), have been atheists; religions are contrived works of men; there is no valid proof for the existence of gods, and those who claim experience of a god are either disingenuous or ill. However, unlike the ''

Treatise of the Three Impostors The ''Treatise of the Three Impostors'' () was a long-rumored book denying all three Abrahamic religions: Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, with the "impostors" of the title being Jesus, Moses, and Muhammad. Hearsay concerning such a book surfac ...

'', another anti-religious work published around the same time, ''Theophrastus redivivus'' was never mentioned by the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

philosophers and thinkers of the next century, despite being one of the first explicitly anti-religious works ever published in modern Europe.

Structure

''Theophrastus redivivus'' is divided into a preface ("prooemium") and six treatises ("tractatus"), also called books ("libri"). Every treatise is subdivided into multiple chapters ("capita").Tractatus primus, Caput 1-6
/ref> # Tractatus primus qui est "de Diis" – On the Gods # Tractatus secundus qui est "de Mundo" – On the World # Tractatus tertius qui est "de religione" – On Religion # Tractatus quartus qui est "de anima et de inferis" – On the Soul and Hell # Tractatus quintus qui est "de contemnenda morte" – On the Contempt of Death # Tractatus sextus qui est "de vita secundum natura" – On the Natural Life

Surviving manuscripts

Today, only four copies are known to survive: one in the

French National Library French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

in Paris (donated by

Claude Sallier Claude Sallier (4 April 1685, in Saulieu – 6 September 1761, in Paris) was a French clergyman, librarian, and philologist, as well as professor of Hebrew at the Royal College of France and Keeper of the Bibliothèque du Roi during the Age of ...

in 1741, who allegedly bought it from the auction of

Karl Heinrich von Hoym Karl Heinrich Graf von Hoym or Count Karl Heinrich von Hoym (18 June 1694 – 22 April 1736) was a diplomat and cabinet minister of the Electorate of Saxony, who was later disgraced and imprisoned, and killed himself. Biography Karl Heinri ...

's estate in August 1738), two in the

Austrian National Library The Austrian National Library (, ) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Hofburg#Neue Burg, Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in Innere Stadt, center of Vienna. Sin ...

in Vienna, and one owned by a Belgian professor. The Italian scholar Tullio Gregory studied the treatise in his ''Theophrastus redivivus. Erudizione e ateismo nel Seicento'' (Naples 1979), and in 1981 his colleagues Gianni Paganini and Guido Canziani edited and published the text. The latter two have shown that the two Austrian manuscripts from the Hohendorf collection belonging to

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

are probably older, based on an earlier original, and that Parisian and Belgian manuscripts are copied from Prince Eugene's holdings.

Hessling's 1659 ''Theophrastus redivivus''

The manuscript shares its title with another, printed book also titled ''Theophrastus redivivus'', which was published in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

by an Elias Johann Hessling in 1659. The 1659 book, written in German and defending the Swiss German Renaissance scientist and occultist

Paracelsus Paracelsus (; ; 1493 – 24 September 1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance. H ...

, has no connection to the anonymous work. It is unknown which work predates the other, and why the two books share the same title; neither work mentions the other. However, Latin book titles with a personal name from classical antiquity followed by "redivivus" were somewhat common in the 17th and 18th century.

Bibliography

* Nicole Gengoux, ''Un athéisme philosophique à l'Âge classique Le "Théophrastus redivivus", 1659'', 880 pages, ed. Honoré Champion, 2014

References

External links

A digitized manuscript
provided by

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...