.

Before modern philosophy began its career, there was a great revival of
ancient philosophy at the Renaissance; sometimes anti-Christian,
sometimes pro-Christian. The latter furnishes apologies by Marsilio
Ficino, Agostino Steuco, J.L. Vives.

Early in the modern period occurs the great name of Blaise Pascal
(1623-1662). A staunch Roman Catholic, but belonging to a school of
Augustinian enthusiasts (the Jansenists), whom the Church put down as
heretics, he stands pretty much apart from the general currents. His
_Pensees_, published posthumously, seems to have been meant for a
systematic treatise, but it has come to us in fragments. Once again, a
lay apologist! A layman's work may have the advantage of originality or
the drawback of imperfect knowledge. Pascal's work exhibits both
characters. It has the originality of rare genius, but it borrows its
material (as industrious editors have shown) from very few sources--the
_Pugio Fidei_, M. de Montaigne, P. Charron. Ideas as well as learning
are largely Montaigne's. The latter's cheerful man-of-the-world
scepticism is transfigured in Pascal to a deep distrust of human reason,
in part, perhaps, from anti-Protestant motives. But this attitude, while
not without parallels both earlier (Ghazali, Jehuda Halevi) and later
(H.L. Mansel), has peculiarities in Pascal. It is _fallen_ man whom he
pursues with his fierce scorn; his view of man's nature--intellect as
well as character--is to be read in the light of his unflinching
Augustinianism. Again, Pascal, unlike most apologists, belongs to the
small company of saintly souls. This philosophical sceptic is full of
humble joy in salvation, of deep love for the Saviour.

Another French Roman Catholic apologist, P.D. Huet (1630-1721)--within
the conditions of his age a prodigy of learning (in apologetics see his
_Demonstratio Evangelica_)--is not uninfluenced by Pascal (_Traite de la
faiblesse de l'esprit humaine_).

As we might expect, Protestant lands are more busily occupied with
apologetics. Intolerant reliance upon _force_ presents greater
difficulties to them; soon it grows quite obsolete. Benedict Spinoza,
the eminent Jewish pantheist (1632-1677), to whom miracle is impossible,
revelation a phrase, and who renews pioneer work in Old Testament
criticism, finds at least a fair measure of liberty and comfort in
Holland (his birth-land). Bayle, the historical sceptic, lectured and
published his learned _Dictionnaire_ (1696) at