Connected by Books: Guy de Brès as Avid Reader of Pierre Viret

In 1555, Guy de Brès published his anthology of quotations from the church fathers
under the title Le baston de la foy chrestienne. During a stay in Lausanne and Geneva,
some years later, he most likely met Pierre Viret. No correspondence, however, has
survived, but recent research has revealed that de Brès was perfectly aware of Viret’s
French-language publications. Viret appears to have been one of de Brès’ favourite
authors. He selected quotations from no fewer than eleven different books. This article
aims to focus on the quotations taken from Viret’s oeuvre. First, it documents where the
thematic focal points lie. For which themes did de Brès use Viret’s input? It also examines
which quotations were removed during the various revisions of Le baston. Finally,
the question will be answered why some of Viret’s writings were not incorporated into
Le baston when, from the point of view of content, they could well have been.