 Despite his interest in French authors , Mariano Moreno was not Francophile or afrancesado . He kept a strong Spanish cultural heritage , and both Levene and Abelardo Ramos agree in that his stay in Chuquisaca influenced him more than the books . In line with the Spanish Enlightenment , Moreno kept strong religious beliefs . He removed the chapter from Rousseau 's work that is critical of religion , and never became a freemason . He gave up his religious studies to study law and get married , but never actually became a priest , so there was no defrocking . He studied with priests such as Terrazas , who approved and perhaps even encouraged the change of vocation . 
