PART ONE

FORBIDDEN FRUITS

I forbade you from eating this fruit to prevent your ruin. What excuse do you have for being disobedient?

— SAINT JEAN CHRYSOSTOME,

Homelies or Sermons on Genesis, c. 388

If you forbid me to write about religion or the government, I have nothing more to say.

— DIDEROT, The Skeptic’s Walk, 1748