Jacques de Chevanes (c.1608 – 1678) was a French Capuchin polemicist. He used the pseudonyms Jacques d'Autun and Saint-Agran. He was the son of Nicolas de Chevanes of

Autun Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...

, and brother of the jurist Jacques-Auguste de Chevanes.

''L'incrédulité sçavante et la crédulité ignorante''

''L'incrédulité sçavante et la crédulité ignorante: au sujet des au sujet des magiciens et des sorciers'' (1671) was a reply to

Gabriel Naudé Gabriel Naudé (2 February 1600 – 10 July 1653) was a French librarian and scholar. He was a prolific writer who produced works on many subjects including politics, religion, history and the supernatural. An influential work on library science ...

's ''Apologie pour tous les grands personnages, qui ont été faussement soupçonnés de magie''. This work argues against both

freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...

and popular misconceptions. It cites the author's personal experience during a

witch-hunt A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

in 1648/9. It also references a 1670 interview with a woman accused of sorcery and witchcraft. Chevanes quotes ''

De civitate Dei ''On the City of God Against the Pagans'' ( la, De civitate Dei contra paganos), often called ''The City of God'', is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. The book was in response ...

'' book 15 on

demonology Demonology is the study of demons within religious belief and myth. Depending on context, it can refer to studies within theology, religious doctrine, or pseudoscience. In many faiths, it concerns the study of a hierarchy of demons. Demons may b ...

. It was addressed to the Parlement of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

, and was written largely from a legalistic point of view, though with lengthy digressions, for example on

astrology Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of Celestial o ...

Lynn Thorndike Lynn Thorndike (24 July 1882, in Lynn, Massachusetts, USA – 28 December 1965, Columbia University Club, New York City) was an American historian of medieval science and alchemy. He was the son of a clergyman, Edward R. Thorndike, and the younge ...

suggests that its title may derive from the English anti-sceptical work ''On Credulity and Incredulity in Things natural, civil and divine'' (1668) by

Méric Casaubon Meric Casaubon (14 August 1599 in Geneva – 14 July 1671 in Canterbury), son of Isaac Casaubon, was a French-English classical scholar. He was the first to translate the ''Meditations'' of Marcus Aurelius into English. Although biographical di ...

The appearance of this work has been noted as a milestone for the French judicial attitude; it asserted that there were witches, but few of them. The work also moves to a general conclusion on the

occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism a ...

, namely that while it should be avoided for reasons already given by the

Church Fathers The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, Christian Fathers, or Fathers of the Church were ancient and influential Christian theologians and writers who established the intellectual and doctrinal foundations of Christianity. The historical per ...

, its practitioners should not be executed.

Other works

*''Les Entretiens curieux d'Hermadore et du voyageur incognu'' (1634); defence of the

regular clergy Regular clergy, or just regulars, are clerics in the Catholic Church who follow a rule () of life, and are therefore also members of religious institutes. Secular clergy are clerics who are not bound by a rule of life. Terminology and history The ...

, against

Jean-Pierre Camus Jean-Pierre Camus (November 3, 1584 – April 26, 1652) was a French bishop, preacher, and author of works of fiction and spirituality. Biography Jean-Pierre Camus was born in Paris in 1584, the son of Jean Camus, seigneur de Saint Bonnet, who ...

*''La conduite des illustres pour aspirer à la gloire d'une vie héroïque'' (1639) *''Les Justes Espérances de nostre salut'' (1649) *Funeral oration for the Duc de Candale (1658) *''L'amour eucharistique victorieux des impossibilitez de la nature et de la morale'' (1666) *''La vie de Saint François d'Assise, patriarche des frères Mineurs'' (1676)

Notes

External links

CERL page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chevanes, Jacques de 1608 births 1678 deaths Capuchins Demonologists 17th-century French male writers Witchcraft in France