Imposture and libertine dissimulation, or illusion and levels of expression of the truth in the Theophrastus redivivus

The libertine tradition concerning religious imposture is nuanced in the Theophrastus: fear is ineffective and the voluntary obedience of people who are not inherently incapable of understanding would be better. Hence the role of different imaginary or religious modes of expression of the truth, even if it is unitary and atheistic. This leads us to analyze the complex relationship with another tradition, that of “double truth.” The resulting fideism leads to the triumph of atheism.