Abstract: Libertines have been attractive literary images in the Western culture. In the 17^th and 18^th centuries, there was a "libertine" fever in the French literary circle and numerous literary works described libertines. These libertines have a lot in common andcomplicated dimensions, including freedom and conquering, fulsomeness and true love, indulgence and sadness, etc. Furthermore, the multiple dimensions of the personality of a libertine reflect not only the tension between emotion and reason in his mentality but the complexity of the time as well.

Key words: libertine, freedom, hypocrisy, multiple dimensions