Denis Diderot
Denis Diderot was born on the 5th of October 1713 in the city of Langres. His father Didier worked as a cutler and his mother Angélique Vigneron supported the household. The family included five siblings, though only three survived to adulthood. Denis admired his sister Denise deeply enough to call her a female Socrates. He attended a Jesuit college for his early education and earned a Master of Arts degree from the University of Paris by 1732. A career path toward the church clergy seemed possible until he abandoned it in 1735. He briefly studied law at the Paris Law Faculty before deciding to become a writer instead. This choice triggered immediate conflict with his father who disowned him. For the next ten years Diderot lived a bohemian existence without financial support from home.
In 1746 Diderot wrote Philosophical Thoughts which argued for reconciling reason with feeling. By 1747 he had completed The Skeptic's Walk where a deist an atheist and a pantheist debated the nature of divinity. The work remained unpublished until 1830 because local police seized the manuscript or authorities forced him to promise not to publish it. In 1749 he published Letter on the Blind anonymously in Paris. The book featured a deathbed scene where blind mathematician Nicholas Saunderson rejected arguments from a deist clergyman. Authorities identified Diderot as the author and confiscated his manuscripts. He was imprisoned for several months under a lettre de cachet at Vincennes. During this confinement Rousseau visited him almost daily while Diderot read Paradise Lost using ink made from slate scrapings mixed with wine. He signed a letter promising never to leave prison without permission on the 23rd of August 1749 before gaining freedom on the 3rd of November that same year.
André le Breton approached Diderot in 1750 with a project to translate Ephraim Chambers' Cyclopaedia into French. Diderot transformed the proposal into a new work consolidating knowledge from the Republic of Letters. Jean le Rond d'Alembert joined as colleague and government permission was secured. The first volume appeared in 1751 but the courts suspended the project by 1752 due to accusations of seditious content regarding religion and natural law. Police searched Diderot's house for manuscripts but found nothing because they were hidden in the home of Chretien de Lamoignon Malesherbes who had ordered the search. By 1757 subscribers had grown from 2,000 to 4,000 making the work increasingly powerful yet dangerous. In 1759 the Catholic Church banned it followed by a formal suppression decree from the French government later that year. D'Alembert withdrew from the enterprise while other colleagues declined to contribute further. Diderot wrote approximately 7,000 articles damaging his eyesight correcting proofs and editing manuscripts. He spent days at workshops mastering manufacturing processes and nights writing what he learned during the day. The last copies of the first volume issued in 1765 but subscribers did not receive the final 28 folio volumes until 1772.
Diderot completed La Religieuse around 1780 but it remained unpublished until 1796 after his death. The novel depicted Suzanne Simonin a sixteen-year-old girl forced into a convent where she suffered humiliation and violence. Her mother sent her there as a sacrificial offering due to adultery committed by the woman herself. At Sainte-Eutrope convent the Mother Superior attempted to seduce Suzanne before going insane and dying. Suzanne escaped with help from a priest and awaited rescue from Marquis de Croismare. Jacques le Fataliste written between 1765 and 1780 challenged conventional novel structure similar to Tristram Shandy. Rameau's Nephew composed between 1761 and 1774 featured a dialogue with the nephew of composer Jean-Philippe Rameau who sank into indolence and debauchery after losing his wife. Goethe translated this work into German in 1805 and it entered France retranslated in 1821. Diderot never saw any of these major works published during his lifetime and apparently did not share them with friends.
Russian Empress Catherine the Great arranged to buy Diderot's library containing 3,000 volumes for 15,000 livres in 1766. She offered him an additional thousand livres per year to serve as custodian while he lived. He received fifty years salary up front and visited her court in Saint Petersburg from October 1773 until May 1774. During five months at her court they spoke man to man almost every day. He occasionally made points by slapping her thighs according to letters sent to Madame Geoffrin. One topic discussed was transforming Russia into a utopia which the Empress feared would cause chaos if implemented. Upon returning to France she gave him 3,000 rubles plus an expensive ring and an officer to escort him home. In July 1784 she arranged for him to move into a luxurious suite on Rue de Richelieu when hearing he was in poor health. He died two weeks after moving there on the 31st of July 1784.
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Common questions
When and where was Denis Diderot born?
Denis Diderot was born on the 5th of October 1713 in the city of Langres. His father Didier worked as a cutler and his mother Angélique Vigneron supported the household.
Why did Denis Diderot get imprisoned in 1749?
Denis Diderot got imprisoned for several months under a lettre de cachet at Vincennes after authorities identified him as the author of Letter on the Blind. He signed a letter promising never to leave prison without permission on the 23rd of August 1749 before gaining freedom on the 3rd of November that same year.
What happened to the Encyclopédie project led by Denis Diderot?
The courts suspended the Encyclopédie project by 1752 due to accusations of seditious content regarding religion and natural law. The Catholic Church banned it in 1759 followed by a formal suppression decree from the French government later that year, yet subscribers received the final 28 folio volumes until 1772.
Which major works written by Denis Diderot remained unpublished during his lifetime?
Denis Diderot completed La Religieuse around 1780 but it remained unpublished until 1796 after his death. Jacques le Fataliste and Rameau's Nephew were also written between 1765 and 1780 but he never saw any of these major works published during his lifetime.
How did Russian Empress Catherine the Great support Denis Diderot financially?
Russian Empress Catherine the Great arranged to buy Denis Diderot's library containing 3,000 volumes for 15,000 livres in 1766. She offered him an additional thousand livres per year to serve as custodian while he lived and gave him fifty years salary up front.