DIDEROT
AND
THE ENCYCLOPÆDISTS

BY

JOHN MORLEY

VOL. II.

London
MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED
NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1905

First published elsewhere
New Edition 1886. Reprinted 1891, 1897, 1905

[v]

CONTENTS OF VOL. II.

CHAPTER I.
Other Dialogues.

• PAGE
  
• (1) The Conversations of a Father with his Children 1
  Remarks upon it.
• (2) The Inconsistency of Public Judgment on Private Actions 8
  Observations.
• (3) Supplement to Bougainville’s Travels 14
• Philosophical qualities of the discussion not satisfactory 19
• Nothing gained by his criticism on marriage 21

CHAPTER II.
Romance.

• Digression inevitable in dealing with Diderot 24
• Richardson’s influence in Europe 26
• Diderot’s Éloge upon him 28
• Rousseau and Richardson 29
• Diderot writes The Nun (1796) 31
• Circumstances of its composition 32
• Its intention 33
• And characteristics 35[vi]
• Sterne 36
• Diderot writes Jacques le Fataliste 37
• Its history 38
• Goethe’s criticism on it 38
• Nature of Diderot’s imitation of Richardson and Sterne 40
• No true creation in Jacques le Fataliste 41
• Its unredeemed grossness 43
• Its lack of poetry and of flavour 44

CHAPTER III.
Art.

• The Salons 45
• Qualities of their criticism 45
• Deep foundation of Diderot’s critical quality ...