The Enlightenment was a time of upheaval in many aspects of life, both secular and religious. Major historical characters appeared during this time thanks to the anonymity given by the "clandestine literature" that sprung up during this period, including Le Philosophe. This was one of the first works to anonymously appear in the 1700's and it was one of many that contained some of the most controversial, and progressive thinking of the time. It is during this time that we really start to see a break with religion more decisive than we had ever seen before. It is during this time that Voltaire, Locke, Diderot, Kant and Mendelssohn all made their mark on history. Each of these characters had a problem with the popular thoughts regarding religion and the state and each helped to change the definition of philosophe to mean "godless". One of the sources that caused the most controversy during this time was that of Treatise of the Three Impostors, which told the world that Moses, Jesus and Muhammad were the greatest impostors of all time. This is among the greatest works of this age and give a great deal of insight as to the seeds of thought that were planted during this time and continue to grow today. It is this document that probably gave Voltaire some of his ideas and guidance as he was walking around England. .
These spread of these works were made possible by the printing press and covert publishers like Pierre Marteau. The name, Pierre Marteau, was used by Dutch publishing houses in books that were being published anonymously in order to misdirect censors and authorities who would have otherwise suppressed these books. The system worked very well as the average press run was approximately 500 copies bringing the total output to about 150,000 copies. These were typically written by devout Protestants who were attacking the French aristocrats and the Church, which was like any other government at the time, given authority by God and utterly abusing that power.
