Abstract: In 1699 Edme Boursault commented that Rabelais was “one of the most intelligent and dangerous men of his century.” He added: “He had a lot of wit and knowledge, but little religion: and although his work is esteemed by some, you never see it in the hands of anyone with a settled life.” Robert Challe, a novelist, diarist, and underground philosopher active between 1690 and 1721, did not agree with this conformist judgment and never missed an opportunity to refer to it.
