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Voltaire places the debate over freedom of thought in the mouthsof representatives of England (which he admired) and Portugal(which he detested). Medroso (the name means \"fearful\")is a religious fanatic, ignorant of the most famous names fromantiquity. What does he say at the top of p. 280 is the main dangerof freedom of thought? The \"holy office\" referredto here is the Inquisition run by the Dominican Order which imprisoned,tortured, and executed those who failed to conform to Catholicorthodoxy. Banned from France, it still flourished in Spain andPortugal in Voltaire\'s time. Why does he argue Christiansshould support freedom of thought? Hidden in the paragraph beginning\"When some business matter .
. .\" is his answer toPascal\'s famous wager which argued that it makes senseto believe in God since if there is one, one will avoid goingto Hell for disbelieving, and if there is none, one will havenevertheless led a good life. What is Voltaire\'s objectionto this logic? What is your own reaction to this argument? Whatare the respective virtues of the English and the Portuguese,stated on p. 281?
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