#JohnToland became the Republican Mythmaker via contacts he made in Dublin before he left in a hurry.

His arrival had triggered much writing refuting his #ChristianityNotMysterious (and a series of letters between #Locke and #WilliamMolyneux, which form the basis for the post below).

This controversary was the trigger for the #IrishEnlightenment.

Incendiary: John Toland and the birth of the Irish Enlightenment http://irishphilosophy.com/2013/09/18/incendiary-toland/
#IrishPhilosophy

#JohnToland, pamphleteer, controversialist, bogeyman of the Irish establishment was born in #Inishowen, #Donegal 30 Nov 1670 #OTD.

Wrote #ChristianityNotMysterious, had to flee Dublin when the book was ordered to be burned and the author sought. Wrote political tracts, inveigled himself into the Hanoverian Court (Sophia was wary, Toland wrote #LettersToSerena for her daughter). Lost his money in #SouthSeaBubble, died in Putney.

Why no biopic? https://dib.ie/biography/toland-john-a8584

#IrishPhilosophyOTD

Toland, John | Dictionary of Irish Biography