CHARRON, PIERRE

(1541-1603)

French philosopher. Educated in bothhumanistandscholasticsubjects at Paris, and then in law at Orléans, Bourges, and Montpellier, and ordained as a priest, he settled in southwestern France and became chaplain toMargaret of Navarreand a close friend ofMichel de Montaigne. He sought to encourage an end to the French Wars of Religion by drawing a distinction between the realm of faith and the realm of reason. His bookLes trois veritez/The Three Truths(1593) discussed the basic truths of Christianity, while hisDe la sagesse/On Wisdom(1601) discussed the theme of human reason as something distinct from religion though subordinate to it.De la sagessewas an influential work ofNeostoicmoral philosophy. It was usually interpreted as defining a secular moral code distinct from religion, though that was not Charron's intention.