Impostors, the Three

(Impostoribus, De tribus). Towards the end of the 10th century a rumor became current that there had appeared a book under the above title, in which the author attempted to prove that the world had been grossly deceived three times (by the founders of the three principal religions). In the latter part of the 13th century this supposed work attracted great attention among theologians and savans, particularly on account of the mystery which shrouded its origin, its author, and even its contents, for it was not only well-nigh impossible to procure a copy of the book, but even the contents were hardly known definitely to anybody. Towards the close of the 16th century the rumors concerning this book were again set on foot. The most extravagant ideas prevailed, and the authorship of the unknown work was in turn attributed to the emperors Frederick I and II, Averrhoes, Petrus a Vineis, Alphonso X, king of Castile, Boccaccio, Poggio, L. Aretin, Pomponazzio, Machiavelli, Erasmus, P. Aretino, Ochinus, Servetus, Rabelais, Gruetus, Barnaud, Muret, Nachtigall, Giordano Bruno, Campanella, Milton, etc. It is no wonder that soon a number of books, entirely different from each other, made their appearance, each claiming to be the original work. The four most important were:

1. Vincentii Panurgi Epistola ad cl. virum Joannem Baptistum Morinum de tribus imspostoribus (Paris, 1644);

2. De tribus Nebulonibus (namely, Thomas Aniello, Oliver Cromwell, Julius Mazarinus);

3. History of the three famous Impostors (Lond. 1667);

4. Christiani Kortholdi Liber de tribus magnis impostoribus (nempe Eduardo Herbert de Cherbury, Thoma Hobbes, et Benedicto de Spinosa) (Kiloni, 1680).

In 1716 an unknown person of Haag claimed to possess the original in his library, and that it was the work of Petrus a Vireis, containing the thoughts of the emperor Frederick II, and written in 1230. Several copies of this work appeared soon after in French; the owner claimed to have made a vow not to copy the book, which, however, did not prevent him from translating it. A German chevalier d'industrie named Ferber finally published a work under the title of De tribus impostoribus, des trois imposteurs (Franefort sur le Main, 1721), but it was found to be only the work L'Esprit de-Spinoze (which had been published in MS. at the beginning of the 18th century) under a new name. In the mean time there appeared a Latin work of the same title, the MS. of which bears the date of 1598. This may be the original work, though probably the date has been altered, as it bears internal evidence of having been written about 1556 or 1560. Nothing is known of its author, except that, judging from the bad Latin in which it is written, he could not have belonged to the educated classes. Some think that the original title could hardly have been De tribus impostoribus, as it does not call either of the founders of the three religions — Moses, Christ, Mohammed outright impostors, but that the real title must have been De imposturis religionum. The existing MSS. present two different recensions: 'one, the shortest, bears the latter title; the other, which is longer, and is evidently an enlarged and altered edition, has the title De tribus impostoribus. Yet, with the exception of a few unimportant passages, the two are essentially alike.

The author attacks the morality of the Jews and of the Christians, saying that Abraham wished to honor God by offering up human sacrifices, and that the Christians wickedly pray for the destruction of their enemies that polygamy is permitted by Moses, and even by some of the passages of the N.T., etc. "That twice two make four is so self-evident that there is no necessity of bringing all the mathematicians together to demonstrate it; but religions are so diversified that they do not agree either in the premises, the arguments, or the conclusions, and any one brought up in one of them is likely to continue to believe his own, whatever it be, the only true religion, to the exclusion of all others." Hence the author rejects equally the Jewish, Christian, and Mohammedan religions, and proposes that every point of belief should be established by a system of witnesses and counter- witnesses, forming a regular processus in infinitum. See Rosenkranz, Der Zweifel am Glauben (Halle, 1830); F.W. Genthe, De impostura relig. breve compendium (Lpz. 1833); Prosper Marchand, Dict. Historique, 1, 312 sq.; Farrar, Crit. Hist. of Free Thought, p. 212 sq.; Mosheim, Eccles. Iist; bk. 3:cent. 13:pt. 1, ch. 2, p. 284, note 5; Herzog, Theol. Encyklop. 6, 645; Am. Presb. Rev. Jan. 1862, p. 164 sq. (J. H. W.)