Denis Diderot(1713-84)was one of the most significant figures of the French Enlightenment.His political writings cover the period from the first volume of the Encyclopedie(1751),of which he was principal editor,to the third editon of Raynal's Histionre des Deux Indes(1780),one of the most widely read books of the per-revolutionalry period.This volume contains the most important of Diderot's articles for the Encyclopedie,a substantial number of his contributions to the Histoire and the complete texts of his Supplement au Voyage de Bougainville,one of his most visionary works,and his Observations surle Nakaz,a precise and detailed political work translated here in English for the first time.

The editor's introduction sets these works in their context and shows the underlying coherence of Diderot's thought.A chronology of events and a list of further reading are included as aids to the reader.

在政治理论领域，“剑桥政治思想史原著系列”作为主要的学生教科丛书，如今已牢固确立了其地位。本丛书旨在使学生能够获得从古希腊到20世纪初期西方政治思想史方面所有最为重要的原著。它囊括了所有著名的经典原著，但与此同时，它又扩展了传统的评价尺度，以便能够纳入范围广泛、不那么出名的作品。而在此之前，这些作品中有许多从未有过现代英文版本可资利用。只要可能，所选原著都会以完整而不删节的形式出版，其中的译作则是专门为本丛书的目的而安排。每一本书都有一个评论性的导言，加上历史年表、生平梗概、进一步阅读指南，以及必要的词汇表和原文注解。

本丛书的最终目的是，为西方政治思想的整个发展脉络提供一个清晰的轮廓。

Foreword

Introduction

Chronology

Further reading

Articles from the Encyclopedie

The Supplement au Voyage de Bougainville

Observations sur le Nakaz

Extracts from the Histoire des Deux Indes

Index