[In an article which pays homage to an obscure princess of the Renaissance and the Reformation, a reader can observe in microcosm the range of Bayle's public concerns. For, in his Life of Marguerite de Valois, he identifies religious diversity, enlightened government, philosophic scepticism, conquest of prejudice, historical accuracy, interest in imaginative literature, and their connection to the ideas of tolerance and freedom. He succeeds, additionally, in portraying the exceptional person as one who can be active in a public calling, prudent in administration, a scholar of distinction, and an individual of moral sensibility. The article reflects, too, Bayle's recognition that the attainment in Stoical virtue of an educated woman can match that of an educated man.]