Rome was still played out under the auspices of Jupiter Capitolinus, and Cicero required skeptical priests to keep their debates over the gods private. As Gibbon mused, they ‘concealed the sentiments of an atheist under sacerdotal robes,’ but they concealed them all the same.19 Similarly, Voltaire did not want to share his skepticism about the Bible with the masses of the poor, for whom Christianity provided both a rare comfort and ‘that necessary fear that prevents secret crimes.’20
