Description
Book SynopsisBerruyer's Bible offers a fresh perspective on the history of the Catholic Enlightenment. By exploring the rise and fall of the French Jesuit Isaac-Joseph Berruyer's Histoire du peuple de Dieu, Daniel Watkins reveals how Catholic attempts to assimilate Enlightenment ideas caused conflicts within the church and between the church and the French state.
Trade Review“Berruyer’s Bible is an exceptional contextual analysis and account of one of the great theological and literary scandals of eighteenth-century France. Berruyer’s drama is historically significant in itself, but the use of his book’s origin and fate to shed light on the religious, cultural, and political tensions of eighteenth-century France (and vice versa), and the continuation of that exploration into a nineteenth century too often detached from early modern phenomena, make this a work of genuine scholarly originality, power, and importance.” Alan Charles Kors, University of Pennsylvania
“Daniel Watkins has told a complex story with clarity and style. It is supported with extensive archival research, particularly in Jesuit records and correspondence. He argues convincingly that Berruyer’s version of the Bible became a major player in political and religious confrontations as public opinion was formed or gained influence. At every point where a reader might wish for cultural or other contexts, they are provided. Scholars are fortunate to now have access to a book-length study of Berruyer’s Histoire, and a very fine study it is.” XVIII. New Perspectives on the Eighteenth Century
