Ce travail porte sur les fragments du Discours véritable de Celse, du Contre les chrétiens de Porphyre, du Discours ami de la vérité adressé aux chrétiens d’Hiéroclès et du Contre les Galiléens de Julien. Son but est d’étudier la façon dont ces traités antichrétiens se rattachent à la tradition littéraire de l’Antiquité. Dans une première partie, nous discutons des problèmes liés à l’étude de ces œuvres. Dans une deuxième partie, nous étudions l’emploi polémique des références littéraires chez les polémistes. Une troisième partie est consacrée aux attaques ad hominem contre les personnages bibliques et contre les chrétiens. Enfin, une quatrième partie étudie la forme littéraire de ces œuvres : le choix du titre et du public, mais aussi la structure et le genre littéraire. / This work deals with the fragments of Celsus’ True Discourse, Porphyry’s Against the Christians, Hierocles’ Truthful Discourse to the Christians and Julian’s Against the Galileans. Its purpose is to study the way these anti-Christian treatises use the literary tradition of Antiquity. In the first part, we discuss some problems related to the study of these works. In a second part, we study the polemical use of literary references in these texts. A third part is devoted to ad hominem attacks against biblical characters and against Christians. Finally, a fourth part studies the literary form of these works : the choice of the title and the audience, but also their structure and their literary genre.

This dissertation examines the place of Hellenism in nineteenth-century literature as a background to my discussion of Algernon Charles Swinburne’s poetic treatment of Apollo, the Greek god of poetry and of the sun. My point of departure is the common view that sees the Victorians’ fascination with Hellenism as representing a collective sense of dissatisfaction with Christian culture, its politics, and morality. Raised High Anglican, Swinburne was an avid and devoted believer throughout his early life. However, a spiritual crisis which he experienced during his years in Oxford in the late 1850s caused him to grow extremely critical of Christianity and eventually forsake his faith by his mid-twenties. Yet Swinburne’s rejection of Christianity did not result in his rejection of spirituality. And indeed, throughout his poetic career, Swinburne searches for alternative deities that would replace the Christian God. One such deity is Apollo, who becomes a pivotal figure in Swinburne poetry starting with the 1878 publication of Poems and Ballads and in the collections that follow. Focusing on seven major poems written during a period of almost three decades, I show how Apollo serves as the main deity in an emerging Swinburnean mythology. Swinburne’s Apollonian myth, I show, consists of three stages: the invocation and conceptualization of Apollo as a new god by manipulating Biblical and Classical notions of divinity; the formation of a unique Apollonian theology; and the shift toward a nihilistic agnostic vision of spirituality. Each stage, I argue, presents the development of Swinburne’s thought, as well as his deep engagement with nineteenth-century debates about religion, mythography, and the reformative function of poetry. As such, my dissertation has two main purposes: first, expanding the scope of Swinburne scholarship by providing a new thematic context for his later poetry; and second, reclaiming Swinburne’s place in nineteenth-century intellectual history by showing his contribution and involvement in discussions about some of the period’s most central issues.

This thesis explores the history of Christianity and conversion to it in 16th and 17th Century Japan. It argues that conversion is a complex phenomenon which happened for a variety of reasons. Furthermore, it argues that due to the political context and limitations acting upon the mission, the majority of conversions in 16th and 17th Century Japan lacked an element of epistemological change (classically understood). The first chapter explores theories of conversion suggesting that conversion in 16th and 17th Century Japan included sorts of religious change not usually encapsulated in the term conversion including adhesion, communal and forced conversion. Moreover, it argues that contextual factors are the most important factors in religious change. The second chapter explores political context contending that it was the political environment of Japan that ultimately decided whether conversion was possible. This chapter charts the evolution of the Japanese context as it became more hostile toward Christianity. In the third chapter, the context of the mission is explored. It is argued that limitations acting upon the mission shaped post-conversion faith, so that changes to practice and ritual rather than belief became the mark of a successful conversion. The fourth chapter explores methods of conversion, the factors influencing it, and post-conversion faith more directly. It argues that Christianity spread primarily through social networks, but that conversion was also influenced by economic incentive, other realworld benefits, and Christianity's perceived efficacy. Building on Chapter Three, the final chapter also seeks to illustrate that the missionaries were not successful in their attempts to spur epistemological change or instil a detailed knowledge of theology or doctrine amongst their converts.