André Morellet

[1] Born at Lyon, and educated by the Jesuits there, Morellet completed his theology degree in 1752 at the Sorbonne and quickly became recognized thereafter in Parisian literary circles for his views on religious tolerance, inoculation, penal reform, liberty of the press and freedom of commerce.

[2] Morellet's early instruction by the Jesuits and his eventual clerical designation as abbé undoubtedly influenced his earliest writings in which the then 28-year-old licentiate in theology completed at least six articles, noted for their scope and length, to Volumes 6 and 7 of the Encyclopédie.

[3] A fiercely independent thinker once led Voltaire to refer to Morellet as "L'Abbé Mords-les" ("Father Bite-them") because of his sharp wit.

He never abandoned the spirit of the Encyclopédie though; in the spring of 1760, Morellet wrote in defense of the Encyclopédistes who were attacked by the Le Franc de Pompignan and Charles Palissot, publishing Les Si, Les Pourquoi, La Prière universelle and the Préface de la comédie des Philosophes (the last procured Morellet a short stay in the Bastille for an alleged libel on the patroness of Palissot's.

His firm conviction for the improvement of society never wavered; he continued to write even as outspoken critics of the French Revolution were executed publicly by the guillotine.