Rhetoric and the Encyclopedie

Theyy Encyclopédie a major work of eighteenth century French literature and culture and a precursor of the modern encyclopedia, contained in its various articles the rhetorical theories of the principal thinkers of pre‐Revolutionary France. Voltaire, d'Alembert, and other French littérateurs and philosophes opposed rhetoric both as it was practiced in society and as it was taught in the educational institutions of their day. Their recommendations for reform and their advocacy of clear, meaningful, substantive communication influenced rhetorical tradition both on the continent and in England. This study describes their theories and relates them to the rhetorical context from which they arose.