M Twain's play The Mysterious Stranger. A mysterious stranger

Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues (French: Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, August 6, 1715 Provence - May 28, 1747) - famous French philosopher, moralist and writer.

Participated in the Italian and Bohemian campaigns of 1735 and 1742; fell ill with smallpox, which disfigured him forever, and retired; illness also prevented him from following the diplomatic path, and Vauvenargues completely surrendered literary studies. While still a lieutenant, during the Bohemian campaign, Vauvenargues sent a comparative study he had written about Corneille and Racine, in which he greatly extolled the latter at the expense of the former. Voltaire immediately recognized in the young officer the makings of a remarkable mind. After leaving the service, Vauvenargues settled in Paris, where he moved in the circle of Voltaire and Marmontel.

The young moralist with his childishly pure soul and moral strength had a profound influence on Voltaire. In 1746, he published a small volume, which included: “Introduction à la connaissance de l'esprit humain”, “Réflexions sur divers sujets”, “Conseils à un jeune homme”, “Réflexions critiques sur divers poètes”, “ Fragments sur les orateurs et sur La Bruyère”, “Méditation sur la foi” and “Paradoxes mêlés de Réflexions et de Maximes”. And a year later he died, according to Marmontel, “a Christian philosopher.”

The fame of Vauvenargues is based mainly on the "Réflexions et Maximes" and partly on the "Introduction à la connaissance de l'esprit humain". These writings reflected his ethical and Political Views, and with them he took a prominent place in French literature along with , Labruyère and . Vauvenargues as a thinker does not belong to the previous century, despite his admiration for Pascal and Fenelon and the fact that in literary respect he is their student and follower. On the other hand, his thoughtfulness, love of thinking about issues of mental life and strong feeling respect for religion sharply separates him from the skeptical thinkers of the 18th century. Before giving in "Réflexions et Maximes" summary his views, Vauvenargues in “Introduction etc.” sorts out the main ones philosophical questions, which worried his contemporaries.

On the question of free will, Vauvenargues is a supporter of the same principle on which determinists rely. Our actions, according to his theory, are completely determined by the influence of reason or feeling, and the illusion of will results from the fact that a thought or feeling disappears as soon as its action occurs, that is, the urge to perform one or another action.

Turning to the question of good and evil, Vauvenargues considers as good everything that leads to the good of the whole society, and not of an individual; everything that is useful to an individual and can be harmful to society, it is evil. Virtue, therefore, has for him social significance. Vauvenargues expresses the same views in Maximes, and for him the source of virtue is feeling, the heart, and not the mind. Vauvenargues in this regard belongs to the sentimental or instinctive school, which does not deny reason, but ascribes to it secondary importance in people's actions. Vauvenargues sets out to restore dignity human nature, humiliated by Pascal and slandered by La Rochefoucauld. He justifies noble passions and contrasts Pascal's harsh morality with his own active, humane and natural morality. The basic rule of life, in the eyes of Vauvenargues, is wide activity everyone mental strength(employer toute l'activité de son âme dans une carrière sans bornes).

In sayings directed against La Rochefoucauld, Vauvenargues denies that all qualities come down to pride. He extols courage and resilience in individuals and humanity in human relationships. He does not allow the existence of either unconditional virtues or unconditional vices, and therefore believes that people, first of all, should be lenient: “all the duties of people,” he says, “are based on their mutual weakness.”

The appeal of Vauvenargues's book lies mainly in the fact that it reflects the experience of a pure and sensitive soul that has passed through the purgatory of suffering. Vauvenargues defends against his skeptical age best feelings human soul; he is imbued with a desire for higher truth, which is felt rather than comprehended by consciousness. The best edition of Vauvenargues belongs to Gilbert (1857).