Encyclopaedic Liberty

Often described as the culmination of the French Enlightenment, the __Encyclopédie__ was collected to not only serve as a comprehensive reference work, but to “change the way men think” about every aspect of the human and natural worlds. In his celebrated “Preliminary Discourse” to the compilation, d’Alembert traced an entire history of modern philosophy and science designed to chart the way toward a sweeping Baconian project of improving the world through usable knowledge. This anthology is the first endeavor to bring together the most significant political writing from the entire twenty-million-word compendium. It includes eighty-one of the most original, controversial and representative articles on political ideas, practices, and institutions, many translated into English for the first time. The articles cover such topics as the foundations of political order, the relationship between natural and civil liberty, the different types of constitutional regimes, the role of the state in economic and religious affairs, and the boundaries between manners, morals, and laws. In addition to Diderot’s early and important articles “Political Authority,” the “Citizen,” and “Natural Right” and the substantial treatments of subjects such as the “Legislator” (by Saint-Lambert), “Representation” (by d’Holbach), “Population” (by Damilaville), and “Political Economy” (by Quesnay), the anthology will also introduce to many English-language readers the tireless figure of Chevalier Louis de Jaucourt (1704–80), who wrote about 18,000 articles, or about 25 percent of the __Encyclopédie__. Jaucourt’s numerous articles on political topics did much to solidify the new political teachings of the natural-law tradition, the English Whig writers, the Huguenot diaspora, and particularly Montesquieu, whose __Spirit of the Laws__ had appeared shortly before the first volume of the __Encyclopédie__ itself. **Henry C. Clark** is a Visiting Professor in the Political Economy Project at Dartmouth College. He has written two books and numerous articles, mainly on the French and Scottish Enlightenments. **Christine Dunn Henderson** is a Senior Fellow at Liberty Fund. Denis Diderot / Encyclopedic Liberty, (2016) 1 Front Matter 1 Half Title Page, p. i 1 Frontispiece, p. ii 2 Frontispiece, p. iii 3 Full Title Page, p. v 5 Copyright Page, p. vi 6 Contents, p. vii 7 Alphabetical List of Articles, p. xiii 13 Introduction, p. xvii 17 Contributors, p. xxv 25 A Note on the Text, p. xli 41 Translators' Note, p. xliii 43 A Note on Currency, p. xlix 49 Acknowledgments, p. li 51 Part: Encyclopedic Liberty, p. 1 53 Volume 1 (1751), p. 1 53 The Divine Voice (Aius-Locutius), p. 3 55 Political Arithmetic (Arithmétique Politique), p. 5 57 Political Authority (Autorité Politique), p. 12 64 Volume 2 (1752), p. 21 73 Brownists (Brownistes), p. 23 75 Celibacy (Célibat), p. 26 78 Volume 3 (1753), p. 45 97 Masterpiece (Chef-d'Œuvre), p. 47 99 Citizen (Citoyen), p. 49 101 Trading Company (Compagnie de Commerce), p. 55 107 Competition (Concurrence), p. 65 117 Conquest (Conquête), p. 68 120 Volume 4 (1754), p. 75 127 Public Corruption (Corruption Publique), p. 77 129 Democracy (Démocratie), p. 78 130 Despotism (Despotisme), p. 86 138 Volume 5 (1755), p. 95 147 Natural Right (Droit Naturel), p. 97 149 Natural Law (Droit de la Nature), p. 103 155 Public Law (Droit Public), p. 113 165 Natural Equality (Egalité Naturelle), p. 119 171 Eulogy for President Montesquieu (Eloge de M. le Président de Montesquieu), p. 122 174 Child (Enfant), p. 139 191 Savings (Epargne), p. 145 197 Pin (Epingle), p. 165 217 Slavery (Esclavage), p. 167 219 Volume 6 (1756), p. 185 237 State of Nature (Etat de Nature), p. 187 239 Compound States (Etats Composés), p. 193 245 Volume 7 (1757), p. 197 249 Foundation (Fondation), p. 199 251 Gallantry (Galanterie), p. 209 261 Geneva (Genève), p. 211 263 Government (Gouvernement), p. 227 279 Cereals (Grains), p. 239 291 Volume 8 (1765), p. 257 309 Habeas Corpus, p. 259 311 Man (Homme), p. 261 313 Honor (Honneur), p. 264 316 Poorhouse (Hôpital), p. 274 326 Tax (Impôt), p. 278 330 Indissoluble, p. 288 340 Industry (Industrie), p. 289 341 Innovation, p. 294 346 Intendants (Intendans), p. 295 347 Invention, p. 300 352 Volume 9 (1765), p. 305 357 Legislator (Législateur), p. 307 359 Legislation (Législation), p. 328 380 Natural Liberty (Liberté Naturelle), p. 329 381 Civil Liberty (Liberté Civile), p. 331 383 Political Liberty (Liberté Politique), p. 333 385 Liberty; Inscription, Medals (Liberté), p. 335 387 Liberty; Mythology, Iconology (Liberté), p. 337 389 Law (Loi), p. 339 391 Fundamental Law (Loi Fondamentale), p. 349 401 Lübeck, p. 351 403 Machiavellianism (Machiavélisme), p. 353 405 Masterships (Maîtrises), p. 356 408 Volume 10 (1765), p. 371 423 Manners (Manière), p. 373 425 Mores (Mœurs), p. 380 432 Monarchy (Monarchie), p. 382 434 Absolute Monarchy (Monarchie Absolue), p. 386 438 Elective Monarchy (Monarchie Elective), p. 388 440 Limited Monarchy (Monarchie Limitée), p. 391 443 Volume 11 (1765), p. 393 445 Trade (Négoce), p. 395 447 Political Economy (Œconomie Politique), p. 397 449 Volume 12 (1765), p. 449 501 English Parliament (Parlement d'Angleterre), p. 451 503 Country (Patrie), p. 463 515 Patriot (Patriote), p. 473 525 Volume 13 (1765), p. 477 529 Population, p. 479 531 Power (Pouvoir), p. 529 581 Press (Presse), p. 532 584 Property (Propriété), p. 534 586 Legislative, Executive Power (Puissance Législative, Exécutrice), p. 536 588 Volume 14 (1765), p. 539 591 Representatives (Représentans), p. 541 593 Republic (République), p. 553 605 Federal Republic (République Fédérative), p. 556 608 Rutland, p. 560 612 Savages (Sauvages), p. 568 620 Volume 15 (1765), p. 571 623 Civil Society (Société Civile), p. 573 625 Sovereigns (Souverains), p. 574 626 Switzerland (Suisse), p. 579 631 Sussex, p. 588 640 Volume 16 (1765), p. 595 647 Temples of Liberty (Temples de la Liberté), p. 597 649 Toleration (Tolérance), p. 598 650 Traffic in Blacks (Traite des Nègres), p. 612 664 Tyranny (Tyrannie), p. 615 667 Volume 17 (1765), p. 621 673 Five Percent Tax (Vingtième), p. 623 675 Bibliography, p. 721 773 Index, p. 733 785 Colophon, p. 780 832 Often described as the culmination of the French Enlightenment, the Encyclopédie was collected to not only serve as a comprehensive reference work, but to "change the way men think" about every aspect of the human and natural worlds. In his celebrated "Preliminary Discourse" to the compilation, d'Alembert traced an entire history of modern philosophy and science designed to chart the way toward a sweeping Baconian project of improving the world through usable knowledge. This anthology is the first endeavor to bring together the most significant political writing from the entire twenty-million-word compendium. It includes eighty-one of the most original, controversial and representative articles on political ideas, practices, and institutions, many translated into English for the first time. The articles cover such topics as the foundations of political order, the relationship between natural and civil liberty, the different types of constitutional regimes, the role of the state in economic and religious affairs, and the boundaries between manners, morals, and laws. In addition to Diderot's early and important articles "Political Authority," the "Citizen," and "Natural Right" and the substantial treatments of subjects such as the "Legislator" (by Saint-Lambert), "Representation" (by d'Holbach), "Population" (by Damilaville), and "Political Economy" (by Quesnay), the anthology will also introduce to many English-language readers the tireless figure of Chevalier Louis de Jaucourt (1704-80), who wrote about 18,000 articles, or about 25 percent of the Encyclopédie. Jaucourt's numerous articles on political topics did much to solidify the new political teachings of the natural-law tradition, the English Whig writers, the Huguenot diaspora, and particularly Montesquieu, whose Spirit of the Laws had appeared shortly before the first volume of the Encyclopédie itself. -- Provided by Publisher The Liberty Fund edition is a modernized translation of Richard Cantillons Essai sur la nature du commerce en gnral (1755) with a new introduction by Antoin E. Murphy. In the Essay, Cantillon outlined an extraordinary model-building approach showing how the economy could be built up, through progressive stages, from a command, barter, closed economy to a market economy, which uses money and is open. Though written in the eighteenth century, the Essay has a considerable resonance for a twenty-firstcentury audience. Antoin E. Murphy is Emeritus Professor of Economics and Fellow of Trinity College Dublin.