Paul Golbach - French writer, compiler of the encyclopedia and philosopher (German by birth). He carried out outstanding work on the systematization of the concepts of the materialists of France. He was one of those people whose work was ripened by the bourgeoisie of revolutionary France.
Birth and childhood
Paul Henri Holbach was born in 1723, on December 8, in the city of Heidelsheim (Germany, the Palatinate) in the family of a small trader.
The boy’s childhood was tragic. He was orphaned at the age of seven, and the brother of the deceased mother took him under his care. And at twelve he ended up in Paris, in that city, with which almost the entire biography of Paul Holbach is connected.
On the advice of Uncle Paul Henry, he entered the University of Leiden. Within his walls, he attended lectures that were conducted by the great minds of that time, and also studied the latest theories of natural science.
Young Paul showed the greatest interest in physics, chemistry, geology and mineralogy. In addition, he enthusiastically studied the works of materialists and philosophy.
Return to Paris
Paul Holbach graduated from the university in 1749, after which he returned from the Netherlands to the capital of France, taking with him a decent baggage of knowledge in a wide variety of life spheres.
Family ties with his uncle gave him the opportunity to obtain the title of baron. Since he was well-off enough, he could devote his time to the work of his whole life - philosophy, while not caring about such things as food and a roof over his head.
In Paris, Paul Henri founded a salon, which became a meeting place for people who wanted to bring enlightenment to the masses. Representatives of various worlds gathered in the salon: from scientists and philosophers to participants in political games. One of the most famous visitors to the salon was such people as Adam Smith, Montesquieu, Russo, Didro and others.
Developing gradually, the salon more and more turned into the center of education and philosophy of the whole country.
Encyclopedia and other achievements
Holbach often received with all the hospitality of the encyclopedists at home, while not limited to the role of an interesting interlocutor. He left his significant contribution as a sponsor, bibliographer, editor, consultant and author of many articles on various topics in the publication of the Encyclopedia, or Explanatory Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and Crafts.
Writing articles for the Encyclopedia showed the vastness of Paul Holbach’s knowledge in many areas, and also revealed him as a skilled promoter.
Among academics, Paul Henri was recognized as a great naturalist. He was elected an honorary member of the Mannheim and Berlin Academies of Science. He received the same title from the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg in September 1789.
Church attitude
Holbach used his popularizing abilities and an extraordinary mind not only for writing articles in the Encyclopedia. One of Holbach's most significant occupations was propaganda against Catholicism, clergy, and religion in general.
His work, entitled “Exposed Christianity” (1761), was the first of a number of critical works that came out without an author's signature or under false names.
The work of 1770 entitled "The System of Nature, or On the Laws of the Physical and Spiritual Worlds" was widely known and is considered the most significant work of Paul Holbach.
The work itself presents a systematization of the ideas of materialists and natural scientists of that time, as well as an argumentation of their worldview from different angles. The fundamental work was done, and after publication it became known as the “Materialist Bible”.
This huge work was not only universally recognized, but also created the need for reprinting. Thus, handwritten copies of the book showed themselves to the world one after another.
The fact that the book diverged quite successfully caused serious concern among the authorities and the church. So serious that work is banned. And in 1770, in August, the Paris Parliament issued a decree on the burning of this book in the presence of the people.
Holbach himself escaped punishment solely due to the fact that authorship was secret even from people closest to him.
Enlightenment Development
Despite the persecution of the "System of Nature" by the authorities and the church, Holbach continued to develop it after 1770 in many of his works, which together comprise a large number of volumes. Such volumes as Natural Politics, Universal Morality, Social System, Ethocracy, as well as other works in which a new revolutionary program in the political and social spheres were published, are published in these volumes.
The general idea that went through all the works of Paul Henri Holbach was the idea of educating the people, the importance of conveying truth to people and freeing them from destructive prejudices and misconceptions.
Another Holbach merit is the translation into French of many works by Swedish and German philosophers and scholars of the past. He published at least thirteen similar works in the period from 1751 until 1760.
Moreover, he did not just translate other people's works from one language to another, but supplemented them by introducing his own comments and some changes into the work. All this gave the translated works of philosophers additional value.
The last day of the scientist's life, whose philosophy and life credo was the enlightenment of the people, was the date of January 21, 1789.
Quotes by Paul Henri Holbach
Among the philosopher’s quotes, it’s worth highlighting those that help to understand the philosophy of Paul Holbach and his attitude to religion and society as a whole. The most famous of them include the following:
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Morality should be based on a less shaky base than the example of a god who can be called good, only stubbornly shutting his eyes to all evil that is perpetually done or permitted by him in this world.
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If there were no evil in this world, man would never have thought of a deity.
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The desire to like, fidelity to traditions, fear of seeming ridiculous and fear of human gossip - these are incentives much stronger than religious beliefs.
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Conscience is our inner judge, unmistakably testifying to how much our actions deserve respect or censure of our neighbors.
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Religion is a bridle for people who are unbalanced in character or prisyblennye circumstances of life. The fear of God keeps from sin only those who are not able to desire much or are no longer able to sin.
