Abstract: This article focuses on the connections between the cercle spinoziste of the 1670s and the Epicurean libertines around Saint-Évremond, William Temple, and Isaac Vossius. Besides these figures, it discusses Saint-Glain, Lucas, and Morelli. I ask how much Spinoza revealed in conversation with people outside his inner group and how far his conversational style reflected stages of his intellectual development and political stance.
