Nicolas Freret

A Safeguard against Religion: A Letter from Thrasybulus to Leucippus Nicolas Freret

This treatise on religious belief, once well known, has all but vanished. Thought to have been written in the 1720s by the historian and linguist Nicolas Fréret (1688-1749), its arguments against religion made an impact on later Enlightenment thinkers, including Rousseau and d'Holbach. The book, originally titled "Lettre de Thrasibule à Leucippe", claims to be an ancient Greco-Roman letter from one friend to another, offering guidance on the temptation of religion. Touring the history of religions, Thrasybulus examines the nature of devotion and obedience to religious laws, warns of their dangers, and suggests a more likely worldview and ethics, one grounded in human nature and the observation of the universe, aiming to "lead us back to a life according to nature, and to free us from the control of others' opinions". This is the first English translation of an important text in the history of the French Enlightenment.