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Libertine

Gossip

The reason for the 17th-century application of the term libertine to people with intellectual interests (whether or not they were also atheists which was far from invariably so - many of those with scientific interests were believers) was that orthodox Christians assumed that advanced thinking must lead to dissolute morals. This non sequitur was so fixed in the public mind by the late 17th century that in order to maintain a distinction between immoralists and people of a scientific bent, the word libertine was reserved to the former and the latter came to be called "free thinkers" or "philosophes" instead.

Johnny Depp and the Libertines: The history behind his new role