In 1601, a respected cleric in rural France lit a fire, one which set off alarms across Europe, and which continues to burn four hundred years later. A sought-after speaker and author of theological and apologetic books, Pierre Charron (1541-1603) was not previously known as an arsonist. His life was relatively quiet and comfortable, enjoying a teaching post in the city of Condom. But when he published a book on ethics, "On Wisdom", containing phrases like: "All religions have his in common, that they're strange & horrible to common sense; ...we are circumcised, baptized, Jews, Muslims, Christians, before we know that we're humans: our religion is not our choice"; "...the immortality of the soul is the most universally, religiously, laudably accepted belief on earth, [and] the most weakly proved & established"; "...man believes that the heavens, the stars, the whole great celestial movement & oscillation of the world, is made only for his benefit...[he] is quite ridiculous"; "man mistakenly & vainly glorifies himself so far above animals"; "...indeed, what is the ultimate & supreme happiness if not an assured & perpetual state of pleasure?"It made no difference that these expressions were carefully qualified and explained: they had been published, with royal approval, by a priest in good standing. His book was loudly criticized and opposed. Charron replied that, if "had been received & accepted by the masses, it would have fallen short of its ambitions"! He replied to his critics in this "Small Treatise on Wisdom", as an alternative to the larger and more difficult work. This book was initially published posthumously; he died of a stroke just as his fame was beginning to spread.Although he is frequently ignored or dismissed, Charron was once quite well known in European intellectual circles, where he was considered equal or even superior to his friend Montaigne. His writings influenced Gassendi, Descartes, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Pascal, Bayle, and many others. Charron is a writer of many appreciable facets: the liberal and skeptical theologian, the bold and pioneering forefather of the Enlightenment, and quite simply as a challenging, complex, original thinker. He deserves a second look, perhaps a second life.
