“The Enlightenment: A Brief History with Documents”, by Margaret C. Jacob

 

 253 pages, Bedford/St. Martin’s, ISBN-13: 978-0312179977

Well, what more d’ya want? The Enlightenment: A Brief History with Documents by Margaret C. Jacob – a part of The Bedford Series in History and Culture – is just what it says it is: a history of the Enlightenment (also known as the Age of Reason) which dominated Europe for at least the last half of the 17^th Century all through the 18^th Century, until the French Revolution put paid to any thought of “Reason” in a sea of blood and war. The first half is dominated by philosophers and activists transforming society by demanding free speech, removal of censorship, freedom of religion, separation of church and state, rule by democratic republic instead of kings, the end of slavery, women’s rights and many other causes. Many met in secret Masonic Lodges to avoid prison and possibly death for their views. The second part has essays from some of the great philosophers of that era:

• John Locke talks about the best way to teach children is through niceness, rather than physical punishment (It seems obvious now, but was something new back then), and other practical advice.
• Treatise of the Three Imposters was written with a fake name and published in secret. Penalties would have been harsh for anyone involved. It describes Moses, Jesus and Muhammad as regular people tricking people into believing for their own benefits.
• Voltaire has some great essays. My favorite being that Francis Bacon was the greatest philosopher, even above Isaac Newton, because he discovered the scientific method, which made all modern science possible.
• Lady Mary Wortley Montagu had some fun essays about her travels. Freer German areas were nice and prosperous while the ones with greedy kings were poor. While in Vienna, It was common for wives and husbands to have lovers on the side. If you invite the man out to the theater, don't be surprised if he brings his wife and mistress there together. In Turkey, many wives would meet their lovers for a secret fling at the Jewish shop, and no one would notice, because they always wore those Arabian robes which covered their face and body.
• Denis Diderot published a progressively slanted encyclopedia about the knowledge in the world. He also did a fantasy piece about a priest visiting a paradise land of Tahiti where his conservative ways were insulted.
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau had essays which influenced the forefathers of America.
• Immanuel Kant tried to slow the enlightenment down when he realized it may lead to bloody revolutions
• Moses Mendelssohn talked about freedom of religion.

An interesting book, but sometimes difficult to read because as the language is so old. Not an exhaustive treatment, but an excellent tickler to the study of this most important period in the history of human freedom.