Sous la direction de Bruno Bernard, John Renwick, Nicholas Cronk, Janet Godden
Voltaire’s Essai sur les mœurs et l’esprit des nations is a monumental work which has changed the face of western historiography. Unique for its time, it encompasses in 197 chapters the history of Europe, Africa, America and Asia to cover all ages, all continents and all religions within the overall concept of a ‘universal history’. Voltaire’s approach to the writing of this history is radical and innovative: rather than recite the deeds of monarchs and religious leaders, his aim is to tell the story of human progress, in particular the progress of human reason.
Background of this new critical edition
Reviews
‘Il faut souligner la rigueur philologique de cette édition, qui met à la disposition du lecteur un apparat critique et bibliographique considérable […] Cette nouvelle édition s’annonce d’ores et déjà comme un outil de travail indispensable pour étudier ce complexe et monumental ouvrage de Voltaire qui marque un clivage dans la manière traditionnelle d’écrire l’histoire.’
Luigi Delia, Revue philosophique de la France et de l’étranger (January-March 2013)
‘[The Essai sur les mœurs] is a masterpiece of prose that pioneered many of the foundations of modern historical study. […] This rich, learned edition promises to become the foundation and impetus for a renewed exploration of both its distance and its proximity to our own shifting conceptions of cultural history.’
Saul Anton, H-France Review (April 2012)
Prefaces and indexes
The prefaces and indexes of all published volumes have been made available for free online.