Classic Book Reader
Cover of Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary

Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary

by Voltaire (1694–1778)

  • Free to read
  • 6 hours to read
  • 20 chapters
  • Reading level: 8th & 9th grade

"Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary" by Voltaire is an encyclopedic dictionary published in 1764. This alphabetically arranged work criticizes the Roman Catholic Church, Judaism, Islam, and other institutions through sharp, provocative articles. Initially released anonymously with 73 entries, it expanded over time as Voltaire refined his views on Christianity, God, and morality. The portable, affordable format made revolutionary ideas accessible to ordinary readers. While the public embraced it enthusiastically, religious authorities condemned and burned copies across Europe, cementing its status as a defining work of Enlightenment thought.

Read free now No app, no sign-up. Your place is saved automatically. Or download for your e-reader ↓
  • Philosophy · Dictionaries

Read the opening

Section I: Of the Comparison So Often Made Between Atheism and Idolatry

It seems to me that in the "Encyclopedic Dictionary" the opinion of the Jesuit Richeome, on atheists and idolaters, has not been refuted as strongly as it might have been; opinion held formerly by St. Thomas, St. Gregory of Nazianze, St. Cyprian and Tertullian, opinion that Arnobius set forth with much force when he said to the pagans: "Do you not blush to reproach us with despising your gods, and is it not much more proper to believe in no God at all, than to impute to them infamous actions?"[1] opinion established long before by Plutarch, who says "that he much prefers people to say there is no Plutarch, than to say—'There is an inconstant, choleric, vindictive Plutarch'";[2] opinion strengthened finally by all the effort of Bayle's dialectic.

Here is the ground of dispute, brought to fairly dazzling light by the Jesuit Richeome, and rendered still more plausible by the way Bayle has turned it to account.[3]

Keep reading Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary →

Contents

  1. Front Matter
  2. Section I: Of the Comparison So Often Made Between Atheism and Idolatry
  3. Section II
  4. Section I
  5. Section II
  6. Section I
  7. Section II
  8. Section I
  9. Section II
  10. Section I
  11. Section II
  12. Section I
  13. Section II
  14. Section III
  15. Section IV
  16. Section V
  17. Section VI
  18. Section VII
  19. Section I
  20. Section II

Download for your e-reader

Files are provided by Project Gutenberg. On a Kindle, the simplest route is to send the EPUB with Amazon’s Send to Kindle. Downloaded copies don’t sync with your place on Classic Book Reader.

About this edition

This free edition of Voltaire's Philosophical Dictionary by Voltaire comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #18569, released 2006-06-12. It is in the public domain in the United States, so you can read it here in full at no cost, on any phone, tablet or computer. Genre: French Literature, Philosophy & Ethics.

Summary provided by Project Gutenberg (automatically generated).

More by Voltaire