Le mal est-il un problème ? De l’athéisme du Theophrastus redivivus à Bayle

A comparison, taking its departure in the question of evil, between Bayle and the anonymous author of the Theophrastus redivivus (1659), an author close to him on numerous point but radically atheist, allows us to propose a hypothesis regarding Bayle’s “pessimism” and the anonymous author’s “optimism”. This anthropological difference leads to a paradoxical consequence on the political level: Bayle is more tolerant toward atheism, while the anonymous author remains committed to the idea of a moral utility of religion for politics.