[Idealism in public life, and the use and abuse of reason, are recurring themes in Bayle's work, but they are clarified in his interpretation of the tragedy of Brutus. Whether theist or agnostic, Christian or pagan, some politicians who pursue honourable goals are apt to pin their hopes on a word such as ‘justice’ which they mistake for a moral being. Accordingly, the idealist, confronting defeat by the party of opportunism, is apt to give way, like Brutus, to disillusion and despair. Bayle's response is to observe that the outcome of all public action is determined by general laws and the competence of the actor. He assures us that honourable policies are best – both for their own sake and because a just cause in no way ‘averts or retards the victory’.]