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The coloured horses in the "Revelation of John" : Part II : Commentaries, iconographie and legendary sources, from the Antiquity to the Middle Ages Can the Dumezilian interpretation proposed concerning the coloured horses in the "Revelation of John" be somewhat strengh-tened by iconographie sources or later writings ? No suggestion whatsoever can be found in theological commentaries ; but, the illuminations of the Beatus commentaries testify to some Iranian influence, and especially so, in the way the white rider is depicted. And all the iconographie documents related to saint Georges add strength to the point. Legends, too, of Celtic or Germanic origin, demonstrate the Indo-European origin of that theme dealing with coloured horses or horsemen. This theme is deeply rooted into the medieval vision. To wind up the argument, the notions of borrowings and syncretism will be looked into.

Others who make us what we are : the jansenists and their adversaries The opponents of Jansenism announced quite soon that the movement will end in a rebellion. Though conceding that they were themselves partly responsible for this evolution, we wish to suggest that they had rightly perceived a real threat for authority. Due to its very structure - its constant oscillating between right and fact - the "Augustinus" could escape the Church's judgment. By their adhering to the same presuppositions Jansenius's 17th century defenders were also able to make themselves unassailable. The antijansenists' mistakes thus confirm that they were basically right ; however, their calumnies and persecution only managed to strengthen the jansenists' sense of their own identity.

A Social History of an Intellectual Failure : Anquetil-Duperron's Defense of the Orient and of Oriental Studies A pioneer among European students of Oriental religions and languages, Anquetil-Duperron (1731-1805) also authored "Législation orientale" (1778). Against Montesquieu's concept of Oriental despotism ("De l'esprit des lois", 1748), Anquetil-Duperron's book is an attempt to establish the rationality of the socio-political systems of India, Persia and the Ottoman empire. The attempt failed, the book remained unnoticed, and Anquetil-Duperron's work did not get full recognition in the French République des Lettres. This essay explores the social and intellectual dimensions of such a failure.

The death of an animal in Catholic Imagination (France, 17th - 20th centuries) For most Catholics, in particular the clergy, the death of an animal is no more than a commonplace event. Since it obviously has no life after death it can be killed without apprehension and used in abundance. The occasional recommendation to use less violent methods of killing did not alter this general scheme. However, this position would be challenged increasingly by a minority trend which emerged in the nineteenth century, even though the evidence shows that it had existed earlier in a latent form. Consisting principally of laymen, it held that the death of an animal is usually unjust and this should be compensated for by some form of afterlife.