Bayle, Jurieu and the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique presents a new study of Pierre Bayle's Dictionnaire Historique et Critique (1696), with special reference to Bayle's polemical engagement with the theologian Pierre Jurieu. While recent years have seen a surge of interest in Bayle, there is as yet no consensus on how to interpret Bayle's ambiguous stance on reason and religion, and how to make sense of the Dictionnaire: although specific parts of the Dictionnaire have received much scholarly attention, the work has hardly been studied as a whole, and little is known about how the Dictionnaire was influenced by Bayle's polemic with Jurieu. This volume aims to establish a new method for reading the Dictionnaire, under a dual premise: first, that the work can only be rightly understood when placed within the immediate context of its production in the 1690s; second, that it is only through an appreciation of the mechanics of the work as a whole, and of the role played by its structural and stylistic particularities, that we can attain an appropriate interpretation of its parts. Special attention is paid to the heated theological-political conflict between Bayle and Jurieu in the 1690s, which had a profound influence on the project of the dictionary and on several of its major themes, such as the tensions in the relationship between the intellectual sphere of the Republic of Letters and the political state, but also the danger of religious fanaticism spurring intolerance and war. The final chapters demonstrate that Bayle's clash with Jurieu was also one of the driving forces behind Bayle's reflection on the problem of evil; they expose the fundamentally problematic nature of both Bayle's theological association with Jurieu, and his self-defence in the second edition of the Dictionnaire.

"Bayle, Jurieu, and the Dictionnaire Historique et Critique is impeccably presented and beautifully produced; the images, sub-headings, and index are consistently pertinent and helpful." - Felix Waldmann, University of Cambridge, British Journal for the History of Philosophy

"By reading this book, a profound sense of the man and his many intensions is expertly conveyed." - Richard Whatmore, Univeristy of St Andrews, English Historical Review

"In what is surely a landmark contribution to Bayle studies, Mara van der Lugt offers an ambitious and original interpretation of the structure and contents of Pierre Bayle's most complex and enigmatic work ... this book should be required reading for anyone interested in Pierre Bayle or the Huguenot Refuge. By revealing the many layers of interpretation woven into the Dictionnaire and situating it in its immediate historical context, Van der Lugt opens a new methodological path to decoding this complex text." - Anton M. Matytsin, H-France Review

"It is a pleasure to follow the author's utterly convincing exegesis of selected articles from the Dictionnaire" - Ruth Whelan, Modern Language Review

"Scholars in history and philosophy know the extraordinary difficulty of producing original research that is simultaneously creative, well-documented, and methodologically rigorous. But this is exactly what Mara van der Lugt manages in her recent book, a comprehensive treatment of Pierre Bayle's magnum opus ... One of the many virtues of van der Lugt's account is that it refuses to oversimplify, respecting both the descriptively complex terrain of the Dictionnaire, and the prescriptively complex terrain of interpretation." - Kristen Irwin, Journal of the History of Philosophy

"this is a well-researched and useful book for anyone interested in early modern philosophy and in Baylean studies. It organizes a very complex topic in a clear and accessible way. Mara van der Lugt succeeds in her task of introducing a new methodology for reading Bayle, which can be used for future research." - Michaël Green, Renaissance Studies

"It is impossible to do justice here to Mara van der Lugt's subtle and detailed analysis of these complex questions as treated in the labyrinthine clusters of Bayle's articles. Her work is certainly a major contribution to our understanding of how the Dictionary works and how it should be read" - Antony McKenna, History