Voltaire's Critical Notes in the Old Testament Portion of La Bible Enfin
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This dissertation has been G3—6230 microfilmed exactly as received AGES, Arnold, 1935- VOLTAIRE'S CRITICAL NOTES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT PORTION OF LA_ BIBLE ENFIN EXPLIQUEE. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1963 Language and Literature, modern University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan VOLTAIRE*S CRITICAL NOTES IN THE OLD TESTAMENT PORTION OF LA BIBLE ENFIN EXPLIQUEE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Arnold Ages, B, A ., M. A. The Ohio S ta te U n iv e rsity 1963 Approved by Departm ent of Romance Languages To My Wife Rose of Sharon and Lily of the valleys Song of Songs 2:1 i i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my thanks to Dr. George R. Havens who first interested me in La Bible Enfin Expliquee and under whose expert guidance the idea for this dissertation was formulated. I would also express my thanks to Dr. Hugh Davidson for his patient and devoted assistance in the completion of this work. His careful readings and cogent comments were of inestimable help in bringing this study to its f r u i t i o n . i i i CONTENTS Chapter Page I . WHY A COMMENTARY ON THE B IB L E ? ....................................................... 1 I I . THE TECHNIQUE OF BIBLICAL CRITICISM: An In q u iry into Voltaire's Satirical Approach............................. 39 I I I . THE INFLUENCE OF DOM CALMET................................................................ 97 Calmet and the non-pentateuchal portions of the Old Testament ...................... 103 Interpretation ..... ........................................................... • 130 Unacknowledged borrowings from Calmet 1*4-2 Interpretation •••••...• .... 153 IV . LA BIBLE ENFIN EXPLIQUEE AS THE SUMMA OF VOLTAIRE'S BIBLICAL CRITICISM: A Study in Thematic Repetitions ........................................................................................... 168 V. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................... 222 APPENDIX.......................................................................................................................... 232 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................. 23^ AUTOBIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................. 236 iv CHAPTER I WHY A COMMENTARY ON THE BIBLE? In 1777 Frederick the Great made the following remarks in a letter to dfAlembert: Voltaire n*a fait que recueillir les sentiments de quelques Anglais et leurs critiques de la Bible. ... Les commentaires sur la Bible sont moins forts qu*une infinite d*autres ouvrages qui font crouler tout l ,edifice, en sorte qu*on aura de la peine a le relever.1 The work in question, which appeared in two editions in 1776, was entitled La Bible Enfin Expliquee, and contained as it were, Voltaire*s definitive views on the Bible. In spite of the inflammatory nature of the work it was not condemned by the parlement. It was not until 1782, four years after Voltaire*s death, that official notice of this book was made in the form of a refutation by M. l*abbe Clemence in his L*Authentic cite des livres tant du Nouveau que de 1*Anclen Testament demontree. et leur veridiclte defendue, ou Refutation de la Bible enfin expliquee de V***. That Voltaire*s commentary should have called forth a semi official church repudiation attests to the power and the influence of the document. Even a cursory reading of La Bible Enfin Expliquee shows Voltaire to have been a vigorous polemicist, a master stylist and the possessor of an Inordinate amount of erudition bearing upon Biblical matters. The Moland edition has three hundred and thirteen pages filled ^Voltaire, OEuvres completes, edited by Louis Moland, Garnier (Paris, 1880), Vol. XXX, p. 1. 1 with V oltaire's critical notes on both the Old and New Testaments.^ Prominently displayed are citations of a most scholarly nature from the Church Fathers* Rabbinic sources and contemporary Bible scholars such as Calmet* H uet, Simon* and L e c le rc . Yet few people even inside the field of Romance Languages realize that Voltaire wrote a Bible commentary. Perhaps this derives from the late data of publication or the rather specialized subject matter. Also, the format of the work, quite unusual for Voltaire* does not lend itself to easy reading. The Biblical text is presented in large clear type; Voltaire's critical notes are relegated to small letters. Despite these factors, this writer considers La Bible Enfin Expliquee to be one of Voltaire's most scintillating satirical productions and a striking O example of the prodigious extent of V oltaire's learning and interest. Why did Voltaire undertake the writing of a Bible commentary? Many times in his career he had alluded to Biblical figures. The Dictionnalre phllosophique is replete with critical observations on Moses* David, Solomon* and Ezekiel. His Examen important de milord Bolingbroke is a scathing attack on Biblical morality. Yet, in these ^In the Moland edition the Biblical text appears at the top of the page while Voltaire's critical notes appear at the bottom in smaller print. In later sections such as Hosea, Daniel, and Ezekiel he incorporates his critical comments in a combination of narrative and criticism without citing the text except in excerpts. ^Voltaire's interest in the Bible was also seen in works such as: La Princesee de Babylone. Conseils raisonnables a M. Bergier. Le Diner du conte de Boulalnvilliers* On Chretien contre six Juifs. Cate chi ante de IThonnete homme. La Defense de mon oncle. Dieu et les hommes, Essai b u t les moeurs et 1'esprit des nations, Hlstoire de l 'etablissement du Christianisme. to name a few. Appendix A provides a lis t of works in which Voltaire discusses the Bible. and other works, the approach was that of a pamphleteer. Perhaps Voltaire decided to give vent to his feelings about the Bible In complete form, not merely through impertinent boutades in the body of an article in his dictionary or through a sarcastic reference to a Biblical figure in a letter to a friend. A second consideration is in order. Ely 1776 Voltaire had dis tinguished himself as a gifted poet. From the publication of the Henriade (1728) to the Epitre a Horace (1772) Voltaire maintained his skill as a creator in verse form. As a philosophe Voltaire attempted to disseminate knowledge about life and virtue throughout such works as the L e ttr e s p h ilo s o p h iq u e s. T ra ite de l a to le r a n c e . Le Mondaln. and Poeme sur le desastre de LIsbonne. As an historian, Voltaire was one of the pre cursors of our modern approach. His Siecle de Louis XIV and the Charles XIII are outstanding examples of Voltaire*s pioneering in the field of historical research. Voltaire was an amateur scientist and a popularizer of Newtonian physics. Moreover he excelled in the conte and the roman. His Candlde is today perhaps his most widely read work. Voltaire was the foremost letter-w riter of his time. Bestermann*s edition of Voltaire*s letters is eloquent testimony not only to the mass of written documents but also to the fervor and wit of Voltaire. In the eighteenth century Voltaire was if not the most important literary critic at least the most original. In spite of his misunderstanding of Shakespeare he was still the first to introduce him to France. His comments on the Querelle in the article "Anciens et modernes" of the Dictionnaire philosophique show him to be judicious and fair, yet frank and unafraid to state his own predilection. Finally, Voltaire was recognized during 4 his lifetim e as the eighteenth century*s greatest dramatist. Indeed his death was precipitated try his appearance at the performance of Irene i n 1778. Having therefore distinguished himself in every literary genre save one, Voltaire might have decided to exercise his talents on the composition of a Bible commentary* Not only would this provide him with a format which was new for him but it would also give him an opportunity to express in definitive form his highly controversial views on the Bible and on Jewish history. Finally, and perhaps most important of all was the polemical motivation behind the desire to write a critical appraisal of the Bible* To appreciate this approach by Voltaire one must take into consideration the role which the Bible occupied in seventeenth and eighteenth century France* Moreover, the position of the Catholic Church must be examined in order to understand Voltaire*s bitter antipathy towards that institu*> tion, an antipathy which he translated into the medium of a critique of th e B ib le . In the France of Voltaire*s day the basic approach to the Bible was the fundamentalist* This acceptance of the Bible as a divinely inspired document was part of Church doctrine as indeed it still is today in fundamentalist circles. While today "inspired" can be inter preted in myriad ways, then, it meant the literal and plenary inspiration of Scripture by the direct hand of God* Moreover, the Catholic Church felt that this repository of sacred words was its responsibility to disseminate and to elucidate. The Bible was after all one of the most important ingredients in the development of Christianity. The Hebrew 5 Bible, which contained the prophecies allegedly related to the coming of the Messiah, was all important as a type of forecourt. The New Testa ment, which contained the account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth, was the fulfillm ent of the Old Testament and hence the inner sanctuary. Moreover, the Catholic Church found it,, raison d*etre as an institution in the admonition of Jesus to Peter to found his Church upon his name. Working from these premises it is not surprising that Catholic Bible commentators interpreted the Biblical text in accordance with their theological commitments. Although this often led to inspirational maxims and beautiful allegories it did not make always for sound or logical explanation.