La faute à Diderot ?

Sylviane Albertan-Coppola : The Fault of Diderot ? An analysis of the image of Diderot found in the antiphilosophical works of the abbé Barruel. First of all, in Les Helviennes (1781-8) there is a portrait of the philosophe, seen as mad, and as either an automaton or an animal. The work's refutation of the Interprétation de la Nature is also discussed. In the Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire du jacobinisme (1797-8), in which Barruel develops his conspiracy theory of the origins of the Revolution, Diderot is seen as of minor importance compared to Voltaire, D'Alembert and Frederick II, the organisers. Although his role in the Encyclopédie and the Système de la Nature is emphasized, his honesty is recognized and he is considered to be a relatively inoffensive dupe of the main conspirators. Extracts concerning Diderot from the two works are given in appendix.Albertan-Coppola Sylviane. La faute à Diderot ?. In: Recherches sur Diderot et sur l'Encyclopédie, n°8, 1990. pp. 29-52