Love all the Diderot write ups so far, but especially this. It made me check out the German wiki entry on Diderot, which is way longer than the English entry, which doesn't surprise me: Diderot was and is v.v. popular here among intellectuals. Lessing (remember him?) translated him in his life time and used some of his drama theories to influence his own when feuding with Gottsched, Herder went to Paris just to meet him, Goethe was a fan both as a young man (when he staged some of Diderot's plays) and an old one, who said as late as 1831 (i.e. a year before his own death): "Diderot ist Diderot, ein einzig Individuum; wer an ihm oder seinen Sachen mäkelt, ist ein Philister, und deren sind Legionen.“ In more recent times, Brecht fanboyed him - you can see the legacy of Diderot's description of the ideal actor in the whole Epic Theatre theory.
Anyway, hence: reaaaaaaaally long German wiki entry on Diderot, which gives me these gems I didn't spot in the English wiki entry: Fritz presented his Diderot-replying pamphlet to Voltaire and D'Alembert first for checking, and with a letter adressed to both of them saying this:
“You are surprised that there is a war in Europe that I don't know about. You know that the philosophers with their constant declamations against those whom they usually call robbers made me peaceable. The Empress of Russia may wage war as much as she will; she has received a dispensation from Diderot for a fair amount of money to let the Russians and Turks beat each other. I, who fear the philosophical censorship, the encyclopedic excommunication and do not want to commit a crime of the Laesio philosophiae, keep quiet. And since no book against subsidies has yet been published, I believe that I am permitted under civil and natural law to pay my ally the contribution owed to him; and I am quite right with those teachers of the human race who presume the right to scourge princes, kings and emperors who do not obey their rules. - I have recovered from the work: 'Experiment on Prejudices', and I am sending you some remarks which a friend of mine made in solitude about it. I think that the views of this hermit very often agree with your way of thinking as with the moderation you observe in all of your writings. "
Buuuuuuuurn. And bless.
I want to see that Voltaire letter, too.
German wiki claims that while Diderot's journey to St. Petersburg was in 1774, his publication of Seneca was in 1778, and despite his disillusionment with Catherine, it actually contains a defense of her against the accusation that she was a second Agrippina (on account of the husband killing)
Also interesting for posterity: Diderot's library, like Voltaire's (which Catherine had also bought, from Madame Denis), ended up forming the basis for the Russian National Library. (Founded in 1795.) Alas, its content and the listing of which books had come from which philsopher got dispersed during the (Russian) revolution, and only could partially and painstakingly be reconstructed later. In addition to paying for the library itself and paying Diderot as "custodian", Catherine paid 16 000 livres transport costs to bring the library from Paris to St. Petersburg. In conclusion: Catherine = despot to her core, but never cheap.
Re: Diderot and Catherine
Anyway, hence: reaaaaaaaally long German wiki entry on Diderot, which gives me these gems I didn't spot in the English wiki entry: Fritz presented his Diderot-replying pamphlet to Voltaire and D'Alembert first for checking, and with a letter adressed to both of them saying this:
“You are surprised that there is a war in Europe that I don't know about. You know that the philosophers with their constant declamations against those whom they usually call robbers made me peaceable. The Empress of Russia may wage war as much as she will; she has received a dispensation from Diderot for a fair amount of money to let the Russians and Turks beat each other. I, who fear the philosophical censorship, the encyclopedic excommunication and do not want to commit a crime of the Laesio philosophiae, keep quiet. And since no book against subsidies has yet been published, I believe that I am permitted under civil and natural law to pay my ally the contribution owed to him; and I am quite right with those teachers of the human race who presume the right to scourge princes, kings and emperors who do not obey their rules. - I have recovered from the work: 'Experiment on Prejudices', and I am sending you some remarks which a friend of mine made in solitude about it. I think that the views of this hermit very often agree with your way of thinking as with the moderation you observe in all of your writings. "
Buuuuuuuurn. And bless.
I want to see that Voltaire letter, too.
German wiki claims that while Diderot's journey to St. Petersburg was in 1774, his publication of Seneca was in 1778, and despite his disillusionment with Catherine, it actually contains a defense of her against the accusation that she was a second Agrippina (on account of the husband killing)
Also interesting for posterity: Diderot's library, like Voltaire's (which Catherine had also bought, from Madame Denis), ended up forming the basis for the Russian National Library. (Founded in 1795.) Alas, its content and the listing of which books had come from which philsopher got dispersed during the (Russian) revolution, and only could partially and painstakingly be reconstructed later. In addition to paying for the library itself and paying Diderot as "custodian", Catherine paid 16 000 livres transport costs to bring the library from Paris to St. Petersburg. In conclusion: Catherine = despot to her core, but never cheap.