La méthode de Jacques Gaultier dans l' Anatomie du Calvinisme

• Published in: Chrétiens et sociétés XVIe-XXe siècles Vol. 30; pp. 71 - 100
• Main Author: Mathieu de La Gorce
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: French
• Published: Laboratoire de Recherche Historique Rhône-Alpes (LARHRA UMR 5190) 01-12-2023
• Subjects: controversy; Coton (Pierre); Gontery (Jean); Jesuits; Reformation; Véron (François)
• ISSN: 2267-7143; 1965-0809
• DOI: 10.4000/chretienssocietes.10229

The Anatomy of Calvinism, published by Jacques Gaultier in 1614, appears in the context of the theological disputes under the Edict of Nantes ; it is based on a conference that took place in 1601 between Jacques Gaultier, a Jesuit, and pastor Daniel Chamier. I will examine the device of the « anatomy » which was found in controversial littérature at the time. I will show that it is used here in an unusual way, consisting of dividing the Calvinistic doctrine into 200 ‘dilemmas’. From the initial debate, Gaultier derives a method, no longer aimed at Chamier alone, but at Calvin himself. This method is based on two principles : an inflexible binary logic, based on the principle of the excluded middle, forces the reader to choose the only truth while precisely referenced quotations are used to justify each branch of the dilemma, thus giving rise to a strong textual confrontation. The aim is to lock the reader into a discursive trap, committing them to a logical path from which they can only escape by rejecting the Reformation or by denying their reason and the Holy Scriptures. The Anatomy is thus presented as an impressive textual device, exploiting all the resources offered by the expansion of printing, in favour of self-forming reading. The cross-references link the Anatomy to another didactic work by Gaultier, a Chronographical Table presenting the history of the Church and of heresies in columns and comparative tables, relying like the Anatomy on a strategy of « ocular » evidence. I present a few hypotheses on the reading scenarios that were anticipated depending on the various possible audiences – worldly people, preachers, and even the young King, who had to be shown that reason and faith were on the side of the Jesuits.