The Enlightenment and Books: Publishing in the Scottish Enlightenment [US] Richard M. B. Schell, translated by the Enlightenment Compilation Institute, published by the Commercial Press
■ Zhang Hong
The Enlightenment is an important subject. Published in 2022 by Richard M. Books such as B. Schell's "Enlightenment and Books" and Roy Porter's "Creating the Modern World" are not to be missed. Although Robert Darnton ridiculed Peter Gaye's Age of Enlightenment (top and bottom) without using archives and merely as a compilation of reading notes, the book remains a must-read for understanding the Age of Enlightenment.
Peter Gay's Age of Enlightenment was published in the first volume in 1966 and the second volume in 1969. The first volume tells how the Enlightenment philosophers won freedom, and the second volume tells how they used this freedom. The book is divided into three parts, the first part is the Enlightenment philosophers' admiration of the Greek and Roman eras; The second part is the contradiction between the Enlightenment philosophers and Christianity; The third part is the Enlightenment philosopher's quest for modernity.
Peter Gay's writings inspired a boom in Enlightenment research, which led to criticism and dissatisfaction with the book by later researchers. In addition to Robert Darnton, it has also been argued that Peter Gay regarded the Enlightenment as a whole and the Enlightenment philosophers as a family, apparently ignoring the different conditions and differences of countries.
Nevertheless, The Age of Enlightenment has its merits: it has a broad vision and grandeur, a handy introduction to the works of the Enlightenment philosophers, and a comfortable interpretation of various Enlightenment concepts. As Liu Beicheng and Wang Wanqiang say in the translator's preface, Guy discusses the Enlightenment in the spirit of enlightenment, and he admires the enlightenment philosophers, but does not deify them. He examines primitive texts in a critical spirit, treating the writings of the Enlightenment philosophers as words of constant exploration in a historical context, rather than modern oracles. Even the "reading notes", Guy is sandwiched between discussions, comments and arguments, and has the meaning of an equal dialogue with the Enlightenment philosophers.
The different situations of the English and French Enlightenment philosophers
Guy published his 1959 monograph Voltaire's Political View, and his "Age of Enlightenment" deals more with Voltaire. It can even be said that Voltaire is the protagonist of The Age of Enlightenment. However, the French Enlightenment philosophers of the Age of Enlightenment were not the only ones who flourished with Voltaire. Montesquieu, Diderot, Rousseau and others also shined. Peter Gay wrote: "Paris was the headquarters of the Enlightenment, French was the lingua franca of European intellectuals, and Enlightenment philosophers were open supporters of French writers. "Empress Catherine II of Russia read the works of French Enlightenment philosophers as a girl, and corresponded with Voltaire, Diderot and others, and later invited Diderot to the Russian court; When King Frederick II of Prussia was still crown prince, he took the initiative to write to Voltaire to express his admiration, and then invited Voltaire to Prussia several times. The English Enlightenment philosophers David Hume and Edward Gibbon both believed that their historical consciousness came largely from the surprise discovery and greedy reading of Montesquieu's writings; Adam Smith lived in France from 1764 to 1766 and benefited greatly from the physiocrats; Bentham's utilitarianism benefited from Elvis.
France at the Age of Enlightenment was the strongest country in Europe, stronger and richer than the Holy Roman Empire. It is also a European center of art, literature and scholarship. The strength of France is due to the absolute monarchy of several generations of kings. Until the French Revolution of 1789, France's absolute monarchy was impregnable. The oppressive political system forced the Enlightenment philosophers to dance in shackles to avoid jail time. During the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV, more than 1,000 booksellers and authors were imprisoned in the Bastille. In 1762, Rousseau was hunted by the French authorities for publishing The Social Contract and Emile, and took refuge in Switzerland, Prussia, and England, while both Voltaire and Diderot were imprisoned.
Frederick the Great mentions that in 1717 Voltaire was imprisoned for reciting vicious rhymes throughout Paris that insulted the Duke of Orléans, Prince Regent. As a frequent visitor to the warden's table, Voltaire was not miserable in the Bastille. On April 11, 1718, Voltaire was released from prison, but was forbidden to live in Paris. In December 1725, Voltaire became entangled with the knight Rohan-Schab, who sent several sappers to beat Voltaire. Later, Voltaire visited a fencing master, and the police believed that Voltaire was learning fencing and preparing to duel with Rohan Schab, so he reported to Rohan Schab. Rohan-Schab immediately retaliated, resulting in Voltaire being placed in protective custody and thrown again in the Bastille. More than ten days later, Voltaire was released from prison and went to England to live for three years.
Diderot's luck was much worse. André Billy's Biography of Diderot shows that Louis XV's government imposed a "perennial twenty-year tax" on all French people because of the Seven Years' War, which caused popular resentment to boil over. In response, Paris police chief Da Jeanson responded to the national outcry with mass arrests. Diderot was arrested on 23 July 1749 and imprisoned in Vincent prison. It was not until November 3, 1749, that Diderot was released. This imprisonment left an indelible impression on Diderot. "He never forgot the Wensang prison in the future, and the ancient main tower cast a shadow on his life for a long time."
The experiences of Voltaire, Rousseau, and Diderot show that under the triple oppression of royal power, church and aristocracy, the French Enlightenment philosophers were in a bad situation and were often to blame. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand why Voltaire groveled in the face of power.
In part, Roy Porter's "Creating the Modern World" is a refutation of Peter Gay's "Age of Enlightenment". If Age of Enlightenment emphasizes that the French Enlightenment was successful and influenced Europe as a result of its power, Creation of the Modern World is a reminder of the fact that Britain was the birthplace of capitalism and modernization, as well as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. The propagandists of the Enlightenment were French, but its pioneers and guardians were English—Bacon, Newton and Locke were considered the forerunners of the European Enlightenment, and they were all British. The second half of the British Enlightenment covered the first 70 years of the Industrial Revolution. The purpose of the book's title is clear: the English Enlightenment, which created the modern world.
Britain's Age of Enlightenment was full of talent. After Bacon, Newton and Locke, David Hume, Adam Smith, Edward Gibbon, Jemise Bentham and others were the proud sons of the English Enlightenment.
The income of the English and French Enlightenment philosophers was very different
Among the French Enlightenment philosophers, Montesquieu was of aristocratic origin, and for a long time his wealth came mainly from land. Voltaire was financially well-off, but his wealth came mainly from investments, speculation, and business transactions, not royalties. " Voltaire in Love " describes his side as a " money junkie " : " In the matter of making money , he was willing to force himself to any point , and if he found himself with a good business opportunity, he would be willing to get him out of his hospital bed and cross the whole of France." ”
Diderot compiled the Encyclopedia for a long time, which did not allow him much income. In 1766, in order to prepare a dowry for his daughter, he was forced to sell his own collection. When Empress Catherine II of Russia learned of this, she bought his collection for 15,000 livres, and the collection continued to be kept in the house of Diderot, who was the director of the library and received 1,000 livres a year. After Diderot's death, the books were sent to St. Petersburg. Diderot arrived in St. Petersburg in October 1773, and on his return trip in March of the following year, he received a gift of 3,000 rubles from Catherine II.
Rousseau came from a humble background, was attached to Madame Warren and other aristocrats in his early years, and even when he became famous, he received limited remuneration from writing. He sent his five children to the nursery, which is certainly a human handicap, and the poor financial situation is also an important reason.
Compared to the French Enlightenment philosophers, the English Enlightenment philosophers were better paid for their writing. According to The Creation of the Modern World, the English Enlightenment began in 1689 and ended in the 20s of the 19th century, covering the entire 18th century. During the period of rapid economic development in the United Kingdom, the rapid rise of the printing industry, London and Edinburgh formed a publishing axis, and a group of publishers accumulated huge wealth. In the 20s of the 17th century, about 6,000 books appeared in Britain, and by 1720 this figure rose to 21,000, and by the 1790s, it rose to more than 56,000. Correspondingly, the literacy rate of the British increased, and the readership greatly increased, which laid a solid foundation for the career of the English Enlightenment philosophers, who could no longer rely solely on the aristocracy for financial support or work as tutors for the aristocracy. Hume, Smith, Gibbon, and others received generous royalties through writing.
In his youth, Hume made plans to practice economy to compensate for the lack of property and ensure that his independence was not harmed. And he did. In his autobiography, written on his deathbed, Hume said: "The bookseller gave me royalties of such height as never heard of in England; Not only did I become independent, but I became rich. The book "Enlightenment and Books" shows that Hume received more than £4,000 in royalties for a book called "History of England" alone. Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations received generous royalties of £1500-1800 in the 14 years between its publication and his death. Gibbon followed the example of Robertson and Hume, and later gained as much fame as these two, and royalties were even greater.
To pay generous royalties to big-name authors, booksellers in London and Edinburgh often teamed up to publish to mitigate risk; Dublin booksellers, on the other hand, mainly spread the works of the Enlightenment philosophers through piracy. Some Britons immigrated to the United States and pirated the works of the English Enlightenment philosophers. To a certain extent, the ideas of Locke and Montesquieu and others were deeply rooted in North America, providing powerful ideological resources for the independence and nationhood of the United States.
If the English Enlightenment created the modern world, France won the honor of the climax of the Enlightenment. The English Enlightenment philosophers gained both fame and fortune, and although the French Enlightenment philosophers had a high social status and reputation, the economic benefits obtained through writing were really limited.
Source: Wen Wei Po