page_title: 18th-century French literature
section_title: The Philosophes and the literature of ideas
hierarchical_section_title: 18th-century French literature / The Philosophes and the literature of ideas
context_page_description: 18th-century French literature is French literature written between 1715, the year of the death of King Louis XIV of France, and 1798, the year of the coup d'État of Bonaparte which brought the Consulate to power, concluded the French Revolution, and began the modern era of French history. This century of enormous economic, social, intellectual and political transformation produced two important literary and philosophical movements: during what became known as the Age of Enlightenment, the Philosophes questioned all existing institutions, including the church and state, and applied rationalism and scientific analysis to society; and a very different movement, which emerged in reaction to the first movement; the beginnings of Romanticism, which exalted the role of emotion in art and life.
  In common with a similar movement in England at the same time, the writers of 18th century France were critical, skeptical and innovative. Their lasting contributions were the ideas of liberty, toleration, humanitarianism, equality, and progress, which became the ideals of modern western democracy.
context_section_description: Continuing the work of the so-called "Libertines" of the 17th century, and the critical spirit of such writers as Bayle and Fontenelle, (1657–1757), the writers who were called the lumières denounced, in the name of reason and moral values, the social and political oppressions of their time.  
  They challenged the idea of absolute monarchy and demanded a social contract as the new basis of political authority, and demanded a more democratic organization of central power in a constitutional monarchy, with a separation of powers among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government (Montesquieu, Diderot, and Rousseau.) Voltaire fought against the abuses of power by the government, such as censorship and letters of cachet, which allowed imprisonment without trial, against the collusion of the church and monarchy, and for an "enlightened despotism" where kings would be advised by philosophers.
  These writers, and others such as the Abbé Sieyès, one of the main authors of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, became known as the philosophes. They came from the wealthy upper class or Third Estate, sought a society founded upon talent and merit, rather than a society based on heredity or caste.  Their ideas were strongly influenced by those of John Locke in England. They introduced the values of liberty and equality which became the ideals of the French Republic founded at the end of the century.  They defended the freedom of conscience and challenged the role of religious institutions in society.  For them, tolerance was a fundamental value of society.  When the Convention placed the ashes of Voltaire in the Pantheon in Paris, they honored him as the man who "taught us to live as free men."
  While the philosophes had widely different approaches, they all had as a common objective, both for humanity and for individuals, the ideal of happiness (bonheur).  Some, like Rousseau, dreamed of the happiness of the noble savage, rapidly disappearing;  others, like Voltaire, sought happiness in a life of the worldly pursuit of refinement. The philosophes were optimists, and they saw their mission clearly; they did not simply observe, but agitated ceaselessly for the achievement of their goals.
  The important works of the philosophes belonged to a variety of different genres, such as the tale illustrating a particular philosophical point;(Zadig (1747) or Candide (1759), both by Voltaire in 1759); or satire on French life disguised as letters from an exotic country (Lettres persanes by Montesquieu in 1721);  or essays (The Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu in 1748, An Essay on Tolerance by Voltaire in 1763; The Social Contract by Rousseau in 1762; The Supplement to a voyage of Bougainville by Diderot, or The History of the Two Indias by the Abbé Guillaume-Thomas Raynal).
  The comedies of Marivaux and of Beaumarchais  also played a part in this debate about and diffusion of great ideas.  The monumental work of the philosophes was the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, the famous encyclopedia of Diderot and d'Alembert, published in thirty-five volumes, with texts and illustration, from 1750 until 1772, accompanied by a  large variety of essays, speeches, dialogues and interviews on all aspects of knowledge.
caption: Fontenelle
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