Nicolas-Sylvestre Bergier

After a course of theology in the University of Besançon, he received the degree of doctor, was ordained priest, and went to Paris to finish his studies.

As a result of his bestselling polemic Deism Refuted By Itself (1765), Bergier was released from pastoral responsibilities by the French bishops in order to write full-time.

In particular, his apologetics targeted the popular atheism of Rousseau and Paul d'Holbach, although - somewhat unusual for a polemical writer - he sought to understand his opponents' viewpoints.

[1] He was a critic of the philosophes, accusing them in particular of distorting the facts on social life in China and Confucianism.

Other major works of Bergier include: Some of his writings concerning divorce, the question of the mercy of God and the origin of evil, and one volume of sermons were published after his death.