Jean-Baptiste de Mirabaud

Jean -Baptiste de Mirabaud (* 1675 in Paris, † June 24, 1760 ) was a French writer, translator and materialistic philosopher of the early French Enlightenment. He is best known for his two translations, the first enabled him to membership of the Académie française. Only after his death turned out that he was the author of philosophical literature, which consisted mainly of corporate and criticism of the church and he had to publish anonymously for this reason.

• 3.1 translations
• 3.2 Philosophical works

Life

About life de Mirabaud is the only known what the few sources have been handed down from the 18th century. After that, he fought as an officer in several battles, including the Battle of Steenkerke. He was for a time a member of the Oratory, a Roman Catholic religious order. He then became tutor to the two youngest daughters of Philippe II de Bourbon, duc d' Orléans and Françoise Marie de Bourbon.

Through his friendship with Jean de La Fontaine his interest in literature was awakened.

Large positive response was his translation of the work La Gerusalemme Liberata ( Jerusalem Delivered ) by Torquato Tasso, which appeared in Paris in 1724. The translation must be preceded by a preface and a biography of Tasso. In the preface de Mirabaud points out that there are already some French translations of the work, such as Blaise de Vigenere and of Jean Baudoin. These linguistically outdated, which is why he sees a need for a new translation.

1741 was followed by a translation of the work 's Orlando furioso ( Orlando Furioso ) by Ludovico Ariosto ( published in the Hague).

De Mirabaud was born on September 28, 1726 as the successor of Henri Jacques de Caumont Nompar, duc de La Force, member of the Académie française. In 1742, he became its secrétaire perpétuel (other sources call the office as secrétaire général). His predecessor in this office was the priest Claude -François -Alexandre Houtteville, and was succeeded by Georges- Louis Leclerc de Buffon. At both appointments de Mirabaud each recently published translations were major contributors. Since de Mirabaud has already been added to the Académie, he had to show his first translation, only a single publication, Ley writes the protection by influential circles (Paul Vernière call it the free-spirited bastion of the Académie ) to. Behind this the house of Orleans is suspected.

De Mirabaud sat through the first secrétaire perpétuel that he made ​​an official residence in the Louvre and the office was connected with the payment of a pension. In the official residence he continued to live until his death, although he had already given the post.

The ideas de Mirabaud acquired great influence on other writers of the Enlightenment.

Philosophical work

Historical Background

After the death of Louis XIV on September 1, 1715 Philippe II Regent of France. Although this was an atheist, but there were more strong church embossed structures in government agencies such as the police and judiciary. To represent Atheist theses and disseminate continued to make not only scientifically vulnerable: it also threatened imprisonment or the death penalty. Moreover, by these theses which - provided secular order in question or even openly criticized was - based on God. Against this background, many atheistic, churches or magisterial critical writings were published anonymously or pseudonymously in the 18th century. Partial belong together works were separated, newly merged or released under a different title. Therefore to this day the details are " Author questions " not fully understood. Manuscripts were not always of publication, but were presented orally only in narrow circles.

Positions

De Mirabaud represented materialistic (in the sense of a world view that everything in the world Observable on the matter and it returns relevant laws of nature ) and atheistic positions.

One of its main theses that the world is older than the Bible say. You also arises " only from the Something out of nothing ". Meant that the world did not result in an act of creation, but from the transformation already ( forever ) of existing matter. He wrote, " nothing is more ridiculous than to assume that God created the world for his glory ." The idea of an immortal soul of man he refused. His position on this issue is, therefore, most likely after Fritz Neubert with Epicureanism, as Lucretius had taught him comparable. He saw the soul as something in the brain -based, as a mere nervous effect on. Mirabaud tried to prove contradictions in Plato that should refute the assumption of an immaterial soul. This approach was found in Voltaire an echo, argues Ira Owen.

Even the belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ drew Mirabaud in this context as evidence approach: The belief in the resurrection of the body is a consequence of the assumption that the body is necessary for the existence of the soul. He tried to show that even people who did not go out of the immortality of the soul, therefore, did not act less morally.

He rejected geocentrism and followed Epicurus in the notion of the plurality of worlds.

De Mirabaud also doubted that a global flood took place and went from a local-only event. He also denied the descent of all peoples of Adam and Noah and the existence of an afterlife with reward and punishment for the crimes committed during his lifetime deeds.

After the death of Henri de Mirabaud Paul Thiry d' Holbach published literature of their own under the pseudonym " Jean Baptiste de Mirabaud ". Also in a letter to John Wilkes he called de Mirabaud as an author of his own work " Système de la nature ", as in a letter to Ferdinando Galiani. The pseudonymous publication was designed to protect d' Holbach, for it would have been "false courage ", " to respond to suicidal the judicial apparatus of the ruling class " itself. The authorship of d' Holbach was not initially detected; went himself in 2000, Hans -Joachim Becker still assumed, de Mirabaud have a work Le Système de la Nature de d' Holbach written.

Methods

De Mirabaud also published to protect him partly anonymous. This meant that his authorship is disputed in some plants. His contemporaries she was often not known. The public appreciated de Mirabaud therefore as " a righteous and philosophically, peaceful ' contemporaries ". When the work Systeme de la Nature de Mirabaud appeared under the name, this could not believe Voltaire, because he had not given him credit for such a work. Also "on the enemy side called this camouflage outrage: Sabatier mentioned under the heading " Mirabeau " (sic), this was indeed not been a particularly gifted writer, but I had an impeccable character. "

The risk of persecution as a reconnaissance met de Mirabaud also by older, some ancient writings (including those of Theognis of Megara, Cicero and Herodotus ) only superficially represented the theses and criticized. He used a technique " the subtle discussion with ambiguous redemption ". This enabled him to criticize the creationist approach the biblical story of creation and to present counter-arguments, but said he gave the impression that he criticize the counterarguments. Some of his anonymous manuscripts were published without his knowledge by third parties ( re-), such as Jean -Baptiste Le Mascrier who tried to refute the theses de Mirabaud by comments.

Significance and reception

For Fritz Neubert de Mirabaud was " far superior in logical- serious argument and the enormous knowledge of the ancient and early Christian writers Voltaire ". He was radical, but less original than Voltaire was because he recognized on its publications and on Julien Offray de La Mettrie, Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, Pierre Bayle, Michel de Montaigne and Benoit de Maillet mainly relies. The merit de Mirabaud lies in his extensive knowledge of ancient philosophers and their writings, which he takes out his arguments for atheistic- materialistic attitude. Because they refused the idea of ​​a creation out of nothing as well as from the spirituality of the soul. Rather, they took the idea of ​​the eternity of matter and corporeality of the soul - both in humans and in animals.

De Mirabaud also coined a descendant philosophers such as Johann Heinrich Schulz, however, an " imperfect atheism " certified him.

He stood According to Neubert " with conviction in the radical camp, from which Voltaire kept away scared ." As a radical free spirit he is also referred to in Schröder.

His book Opinions sur les anciens the juifs 1769 applies in part as anti-Semitic, because it contains quotations from ancient times ( Greek and Latin ) Works that are represented by the Jews as a threat to Europe. In this sense, writes Hans -Joachim Becker, Schulz had been influenced by de Mirabaud, but also by Voltaire. De Mirabaud claimed that Jews were always hated and attributed this to the insult of foreign gods and their attempts to exterminate other peoples ( " tryed to exterminate other races" ). Neubert, however, sees this ostensible attacks against Judaism as directed in reality against Christianity. De Mirabaud emphasize that Christianity had taken his teachings from Judaism to a great extent. The " trick " therefore serves to disguise his attacks on Christianity in order to avoid reprisals. The critique of Christianity also emphasizes Wade: de Mirabaud throw BC inconsistency in teaching and acting. The method of attacking Judaism to Christianity to escape the base was widely used in the education literature of the 18th century. So Nicolas Fréret had performed in his work Lettre de Thrasybule à Leucippe: " Destroy the Jewish sect and Christianity will collapse like a house of cards ."

Writings

Translations

• Jérusalem delivree, poème you héroïque cup, nouvelle ment traduit en françois, translation of the epic La Gerusalemme Liberata by Torquato Tasso, Paris, 1724 ()
• Roland furieux, poème héroïque de l' Arioste, nouvelle traduction, translation of the epic Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, The Hague, 1741

Philosophical works

• Discours prononcez dans l' Académie Francoise le 30 juin MDCCXXIX Jeudy, à la réception de M. l' abbé Sallier, 1729 (response to de Mirabaud Abbé Sallier ) (full text )
• Sentiments of the philosophes sur la nature de l' âme ( 1743); In: Bernard Le Bouyer de Fontenelle: Nouvelles libertés de penser ( full text ); Published by Naigeon, in: Recueil Philosophique, 1753.
• De l' âme et de son immortalité, London, 1751 ( full text Part 2), in: César Chesneau Du Marsais (ed. ): Le monde, London, 1751, Part 2. The first part, entitled Le monde, son origine, et son antiquité, London, 1751 ( full text Part 1 ) comes from Jean Frédéric Bernard.
• Opinions of the anciens sur les juifs, 1769 ( full text )
• Abrégé du code de la nature, London, 1770 ( full text )