BAYLE, PIERRE, one of the most independent thinkers in the 17th c., was b. in 1647 at Cnrlat, in the old co. of Foix, France, and studied philosophy under the Jesuits at Toulouse. The arguments of his tutors, but especially his friendly intercourse and quiet disputation with a Catholic clergyman, who lived in his neighborhood, led him to doubt the orthodoxy of Protestantism, and shortly prevailed so far that he openly renounced his father's creed, and adopted the Catholic one. In the course of about 17 months, however. the conversation of his relatives brought him back to the Protestant profession. To escape ecclesiastical censure, he now went to Geneva, and thence to Coppet, where lie studied the philosophy of Descartes. After a few years, he returned' to France, and in 1675 was elected to fill the chair of philosophy in the university of Sedan. In this office he remained until 1681, when the university was disfranchised. His next appoint ment was that of professor of philosophy at Rotterdam. The appearance of a comet in 16S0 having given occasion to a widely spread alarm, B., in 1682, published his Pensees Dircrscs sur la Comile, a work full of learning, and treating, in discursive style, many topics of metaphysics, ethics, theology, history, and politics. This was followed by his Critique Generale de "l' Histoire du Calvinism.° de Maimbourg." In 1684, he commenced a periodical, Nourelles de la Republique des Lettres. The religious persecutions in France gave B. occasion to write his Commentaire Philosophique sac ces Paroles de r Ecangile: "Contrains ks d'entrer," which professed itself to be a translation from the English, and contained a strong defense of the principle of toleration. In consequence of the accusa tions brought forward by the theologian, Jurieu, who regarded B. as an agent of France, and the enemy of Protestants. 13., though be skillfully defended himself,was deprived of his license to teach (in 1693). He now assiduously devoted his leisure to the Dietionnaire llistorique et Critique (1st edition, 2 vols., Rotterd. 1696—last edition, 16 vols., Paris, 1820). This was the first work published under his own name. Again Jurieu came for ward as B.'s adversary, and induced the consistory of Rotterdam to censure the diction ary, chiefly on account of the supposed irreligious tendency of the article on David," and the commendation bestowed on the moral character of certain atheists. B. prom ised to expunge all the objectionable matter; but afterwards, when he found that the public entertained a different and more favorable opinion of the peculiar passages than the Rotterdam consistory, he judged it best to allow them to remain as they were, or made only slight alterations. New opponents were called into the arena by his Mponse aux Prorineial, and the continuation of his Pensees sur la Gem Jacque lot and Leclerc now attacked his religious opinions, while others persecuted him as the enemy of Protestantism and of his adopted country, Holland. These literary and theo
logical controversies had a bad effect on his failing health, and a disease, for which he refused to employ medical aid, proved fatal. He died Dec. 28, 1706.
B. stands at the head of modern sceptics and logicians. Accustomed to view every question scrupulously on all sides, he was apparently led to doubt on religious matters generally; at least, it is not to be denied that his scepticism carried him the length of doubting the worth or the wisdom of the religious dogmatism that ruled both Catholics and Protestants in his day. B. was thus the antithesis of a bigot, but his hostility to bigotry rather originated in his indifference to the doctrines about which theologians quarreled, than in any clear or high perception of the iniquity of religious persecution. With great eloquence and persistency, he vindicated the doctrine that moral characteris tics and convictions may exist and flourish independently of particular religious opinions; and considering the barbarous manner in which the rival churches in B.'s time sought to enforce conformity of sentiment, and crush the liberty of private judgment, it is not to be wondered at that this doctrine, however objectionable abstractly, should have found a wide acceptance in Europe. Voltaire calls him " a more admirable logician than a profound philosopher;" and adds that "he knew almost nothing of physics." This probably means no more than that lie was ignorant of the then recent discoveries of Newton; for the scientific articles in the dictionary presuppose a knowledge of the theories of Descartes (q.v.), with which he was conversant enough. The style of B. is clear and natural, but diffuse, and often impure. The articles in the dictionary seem to have been chosen merely as vehicles to introduce numerous digressions in notes, many of which are prolix and uninteresting; but the greater number of the articles are charac terized by good sense, logic, critical acumen, and great learning. Though it is impos sible to detect the presence of a religious or a philosophical system in the work, it every where gives indications of the high intelligence, honest principle, and universal knowl edge of the author. It was proscribed both in France and Holland, and was consequently very widely diffused in both countries, and has exercised an immense influence over the literature and philosophy of the continent. It was the dawn of scepticism in the 18th c., and may be historically regarded as the protest of the enlightened human intellect against the irrational dogmatism of the churches. In his personal .character, B. was amiable, obliging, disinterested, and modest, but at the same time morally courageous and independent. His CP:acres Direrses were published in four volumes at the Hague, 17°5-31. See life of B. by Des Maizeaux (Amsterdam, 1712), and by Feuerbach (1838).