ABSTRACT
By mid-century the Reformations were solidly established. The year 1555 saw Lutheranism recognized in the Empire at the Peace of Augsburg and Calvin's final and decisive victory in Geneva. One of the foundations of Montaigne's thought was stoicism. The late sixteenth century saw a revival of interest in the literature of the Roman Empire, particularly that of Tacitus and Seneca. Even in England divine right theory proved useful in small doses. In order to counter Catholic resistance theory and attempts by fanatics on the life of Elizabeth, Protestant writers cloaked the Queen in divine trappings. Religious indifference was encouraged by religious strife. Inside the border of the Empire opposition to the crown combined with moves for religious reform in lower Austria and Bohemia. The sixteenth century made a contribution of its own towards the rise of scepticism and religious indifference. For outside all the controversies within Christianity, it witnessed a revival of the form of Greek scepticism called pyrrhonism.
