18th-century French literature classic example is "Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane" by Alain-René Lesage (1715). The novel of the imagination pictured life centuries in the future; "L'An 2440, rêve s'il en fut jamais" (The year 2440 - dream of all dreams) by Mercier (1771); or stories of fantasy "le Diable amoureux" (The Devil in Love) of Jacques Cazotte (1772). The libertine, or erotic novel, featured eroticism, seduction, manipulation, and social intrigue. Classic examples are "Les Liaisons dangereuses" ("Dangerous Liaisons") by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (1782); ("Justine ou les Malheurs de la vertu" ("Justine or the misfortunes of virtue") by Donatien Alphonse François
Deism in England and France in the 18th century implanted in the human soul from the beginning five innate religious ideas: the existence of God, divine worship, the practice of virtue, repentance for sin, and personal immortality. Toland is best known for his famous work, "Christianity not Mysterious", which was much influenced by John Locke's Essay "Human Understanding". Embracing Locke's epistemology, Toland asserted reason is the "Foundation of all Certitude." Like Locke, he viewed reason as a mental faculty: Every one experiences in himself a Power or Faculty of various Ideas or Perceptions of things: Of affirming or denying, according as he sees them to agree or disagree: And