BOULAINVILLIERS, Henri, Count of. – Born at St-Saire (Normandy) on 11 Oct. 1658, died in Paris on 23 Jan. 1722. A curious figure, historian, politician, and astrologer. A champion of feudal ideas over monarchical ones and of the myth of Germanic superiority; essentially a Spinozist, behind an only apparent reverence for Christianity, he is one of the most skilful secularizers of his time.
In *La vie de Mahomed*, published posthumously (2nd ed., Amsterdam 1731), taking up the concept of the “nobility” of Islam already asserted by a group of Arabists, he goes so far as to depict Muḥammad as the promoter of a natural and humanitarian religion: according to B., Muḥammad’s religion succeeds in reconciling nature with law, whereas Christianity is not only contrary to nature but also unnatural; with his idea of the impossibility of any religion that is not exclusively natural, he seeks to undermine the concepts of positive religion and of revealed Christian religion. This myth of Muḥammad holds fundamental importance in rationalistic France and is linked to a whole series of other myths (e.g., the high moral standing of the natural morality of the Chinese with the consequent affirmation of the uselessness of Revelation).