Libert de conscience et tyrannie : propos de la rfrence Sbastien Castellion et de la mention du respect de la conscience errone dans Les Essais de Montaigne

Author: Millet Olivier  

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

E-ISSN: 2398-4961|50(Number191-192)|1-2|13-42

ISSN: 0047-8105

Source: Moreana, Vol.50(Number191-192), Iss.1-2, 2013-06, pp. : 13-42

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Abstract

This paper shows how Montaigne, without saying so, borrows from Castellion the idea of freedom of conscience in favour of heretics, advocating respect for erroneous conscience. In Book I of the Essais, the reference to Castellion, first implicit (Essais I, chap. 16), then explicit (chap. 35), leads the political and religious debate of the time to hinge on tyranny and respect for erroneous conscience, applied to the heretics. The parallel (enlarged to Mino Celsi) between Castellion and Montaigne on the opposition between tyranny and freedom of conscience, in the context of religious wars, underscores both the ideological differences between these two thinkers and their objective convergence in view of a pragmatic compromise allowing freedom of worship in a divided France.