Jean-Martin de Prades

About the end of 1751, he presented himself for the doctorate, driven, as a mémoire of that time says, "by the incredulous, who, in order to justify his blasphemies, wanted to have his doctrine approved by the Faculty".

According to Abbé de Prades, the soul is an unknown substance; sensations are the source of our ideas; the origin of civil law is might, from which are derived all notions of just and of unjust, of good and evil; natural law is empirical; revealed religion is only natural religion in its evolution; the chronology of the Pentateuch is false; the healings operated by Jesus Christ are doubtful miracles, since those operated by Esculapius present the same characteristics.

Voltaire gave a detailed account of the events in his book "Le tombeau de la Sorbonne", published anonymously in 1753.

Upon the recommendation of Voltaire and of the Marquis of Argens, the Abbé became lector to Frederick of Prussia and went to Berlin.

From the year 1753, negotiations were entered upon between the Abbé de Prades and the Bishop of Breslau, Philip von Schaffgotsch, with a view to a recantation.

Benedict XIV and Cardinal Tencin wrote the formula of recantation which was signed by the Abbé.

Frederick II wrote a preface to the work, which the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia describes as "violently anti-catholic".