午夜剧场

For the past several years, I have been engaged in research on the sources of anonymous entries in the "Encyclopédie" (published 1751–1772; 17 volumes of text, 11 volumes of plates, with later supplements and indices), which can be called the culmination of 18th-century French knowledge. I am particularly interested in the entries written by Jean-Fran?ois de Saint-Lambert (1716–1803), a writer and poet who enjoyed immense popularity in the 18th century but has been forgotten over time. Since Saint-Lambert was also a military aristocrat in the King's army, it is not difficult to imagine why he insisted on anonymity when contributing to a great encyclopedia that included descriptions critical of royal and ecclesiastical authority.

In 1757, following the political instability caused by an attempted assassination of the King, the "Encyclopédie" was banned after the publication of Volume 7. However, with the support of readers, the remaining volumes of text were published illegally in 1765. What is interesting is that Saint-Lambert, who might have been expected to be cautious about cooperating with the publication project given his social standing, actually contributed several important entries related to politics, economics, and moral theory from Volume 8 onward. The connections between these entries are not immediately clear upon a single reading. However, as I read through them while cross-referencing contemporary books that Saint-Lambert likely had in his possession, it becomes clear that several of his entries were influenced by Helvétius's "De l'esprit" (published 1758) and were attempts to defend it.

"De l'esprit" was a work that preached radical materialism—the idea that all human mental activity derives from physical sensations—and it was condemned to be burned as a work related to anti-religious movements. Nevertheless, it is also true that the book develops numerous arguments that could lead to the establishment of modern democracy. Examples include the claim that human intellect is born equal and can be forged through public education, or the utilitarian idea that a happy fusion of individual and public interests is possible.

The moment when changes in people's mindsets emerge clearly within the anonymous entries of a great encyclopedia published more than twenty years before the outbreak of the French Revolution is a moment of modest joy for those of us who conduct philological research.