Catherine & Diderot: The Empress, the Philosopher, and the Fate of the Enlightenment

When Empires Collide Is A History Of The Famous Encounter Between The French Philosopher Denis Diderot And His Patron, Empress Catherine Ii Of Russia, In 1773. The Book Begins Many Years Earlier And Traces The Life Of Diderot And Catherine In Alternating Chapters, Painting A Vivid And Complex Portrait Of Eighteenth-century Europe Where New Enlightenment Thinking Co-existed With Old Monarchical Systems. Robert Zaretsky Has Written An Intellectual And Political History Of The Time By Spotlighting The Exchange Of Ideas Between A Philosopher Who Reflected On The Nature Of Power And A Ruler Who Excercised It. In The Autumn Of 1773, Taking Up Residence In Saint Petersburg At Catherine's Invitation, The Two Met Every Third Day For Catherine's Instruction In Various Philosophical And Political Subjects. Zaretsky Describes The Scene: For Each 'lesson,' He Prepared A Series Of Notes On A Particular Theme, From Which He Would Read At The Start Of The Session. Having Thus Introduced The Theme, Diderot Then Engaged Catherine In Conversation. This Made For A Stunning Tableau: The Conversations Were Freewheeling, Free Of The Protocol That Reigned Elsewhere In The Palace. Catherine Frequently Knitted Or Embroidered During These Sessions, While Diderot, Caught Up In The Excitement Of An Idea, Would Whirl His Hands To Emphasize Points, Often Reaching Out And Grabbing Catherine's Leg Or Arm. Zaretsky Pieces Together Their Conversations From Letters To Each Other And To Other Correspondents, As Well As From Diderot's (still Untranslated) Memoirs. The Influence Seems To Run In Both Directions; However, As The Author Concludes, This Extraordinary Friendship Reveals Two Individuals Aware Of The Power Of Ideas, But Who Have Very Different Understandings Of The Use Of Ideas.-- The Sea At Scheveningen -- Reading Voltaire In St. Petersburg -- R Is For Riga -- Glasnost -- The Shadow Lands -- The Hermitage -- Extraordinary Men And Events -- Colic And Constitutions -- The Road Not Taken -- Send For Seneca. Robert Zaretsky. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. When Empires Collide is a history of the famous encounter between the French philosopher Denis Diderot and his patron, Empress Catherine II of Russia, in 1773. The book begins many years earlier and traces the life of Diderot and Catherine in alternating chapters, painting a vivid and complex portrait of eighteenth-century Europe where new Enlightenment thinking co-existed with old monarchical systems. Robert Zaretsky has written an intellectual and political history of the time by spotlighting the exchange of ideas between a philosopher who reflected on the nature of power and a ruler who excercised it. In the autumn of 1773, taking up residence in Saint Petersburg at Catherine's invitation, the two met every third day for Catherine's instruction in various philosophical and political subjects. Zaretsky describes the scene: "For each 'lesson, ' he prepared a series of notes on a particular theme, from which he would read at the start of the session. Having thus introduced the theme, Diderot then engaged Catherine in conversation. This made for a stunning tableau: the conversations were freewheeling, free of the protocol that reigned elsewhere in the palace. Catherine frequently knitted or embroidered during these sessions, while Diderot, caught up in the excitement of an idea, would whirl his hands to emphasize points, often reaching out and grabbing Catherine's leg or arm. Zaretsky pieces together their conversations from letters to each other and to other correspondents, as well as from Diderot's (still untranslated) memoirs. The influence seems to run in both directions; however, as the author concludes, this extraordinary friendship reveals two individuals aware of the power of ideas, but who have very different understandings of the use of ideas.-- Provided by publisher A dual biography crafted around the famous encounter between the French philosopher who wrote about power and the Russian empress who wielded it with great aplomb. In October 1773, after a grueling trek from Paris, the aged and ailing Denis Diderot stumbled from a carriage in wintery St. Petersburg. The century's most subversive thinker, Diderot arrived as the guest of its most ambitious and admired ruler, Empress Catherine of Russia. What followed was unprecedented: more than forty private meetings, stretching over nearly four months, between these two extraordinary figures. Diderot had come from Paris in order to guide--or so he thought--the woman who had become the continent's last great hope for an enlightened ruler. But as it soon became clear, Catherine had a very different understanding not just of her role but of his as well. Philosophers, she claimed, had the luxury of writing on unfeeling paper. Rulers had the task of writing on human skin, sensitive to the slightest touch. Diderot and Catherine's series of meetings, held in her private chambers at the Hermitage, captured the imagination of their contemporaries. While heads of state like Frederick of Prussia feared the consequences of these conversations, intellectuals like Voltaire hoped they would further the goals of the Enlightenment. In Catherine & Diderot , Robert Zaretsky traces the lives of these two remarkable figures, inviting us to reflect on the fraught relationship between politics and philosophy, and between a man of thought and a woman of action. In a dual biography crafted around the famous encounter between the French philosopher who wrote about power and the Russian empress who wielded it with great aplomb, Robert Zaretsky invites us to reflect on the fraught relationship between politics and philosophy, and between a man of thought and a woman of action. Contents Prologue 1. The Sea at Scheveningen 2. Reading Voltaire in Saint Petersburg 3. R is for Riga 4. Glasnost 5. The Shadow Lands 6. The Hermitage 7. Extraordinary Men and Events 8. Colic and Constitutions 9. The Road Not Taken 10. Send for Seneca Epilogue Notes Acknowledgments Index