Rameau's Nephew

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Rameau's Nephew,
or the Second Satire
Philosophical novel
Publication date
1805, 1891

Rameau's Nephew, or the Second Satire (or The Nephew of Rameau, French: Le Neveu de Rameau ou La Satire seconde) is an imaginary philosophical conversation by Denis Diderot, probably written between 1761 and 1774.[1][2]

It was first published in

Pierpont Morgan Library
in New York.

According to Andrew S. Curran, Diderot did not publish the dialogue during his lifetime because his portrayals of famous musicians, politicians and financiers would have warranted his arrest.[5]

Description

The recounted story takes place in the

self-reflexivity, allegory and allusion. Lui defends a worldview based on cynicism, hedonism and materialism.[7]

Recurring themes in the discussion include the Querelle des Bouffons (the French/Italian opera battle), education of children, the nature of genius and money. The often rambling conversation pokes fun at numerous prominent figures of the time.

In the prologue that precedes the conversation, the first-person narrator frames Lui as eccentric and extravagant, full of contradictions, "a mixture of the sublime and the base, of good sense and irrationality". Effectively being a provocateur, Lui seemingly extols the virtues of crime and theft, raising love of gold to the level of a religion. Moi appears initially to have a didactic role, while the nephew (Lui) succeeds in conveying a cynical, if perhaps immoral, vision of reality.

According to Andrew S. Curran, the main themes of this work are the consequences of God's non-existence for the possibility of morality and the distinction between human beings and animals.[8]

Buffoon
.

Summary

Bulandra Theater, Bucharest); photograph by S. Steiner for Flacăra

Preface

The narrator has made his way to his usual haunt on a rainy day, the Café de la Régence, France's chess mecca, where he enjoys watching such masters as Philidor or Legall. He is accosted by an eccentric figure: I do not esteem such originals. Others make them their familiars, even their friends. Such a man will draw my attention perhaps once a year when I meet him because his character offers a sharp contrast with the usual run of men, and a break from the dull routine imposed by one's education, social conventions and manners. When in company, he works as a pinch of leaven, causing fermentation and restoring each to his natural bend. One feels shaken and moved; prompted to approve or blame; he causes truth to shine forth, good men to stand out, villains to unmask. Then will the wise man listen and get to know those about him.[9]

Dialogue

The dialogue form allows Diderot to examine issues from widely different perspectives. The character of Rameau's nephew is presented as extremely unreliable, ironical and self-contradicting, so that the reader may never know whether he is being sincere or provocative. The impression is that of nuggets of truth artfully embedded in trivia.

A parasite in a well-to-do family, Rameau's nephew has recently been kicked out because he refused to compromise with the truth. Now he will not humble himself by apologizing. And yet, rather than starve, shouldn't one live at the expense of rich fools and knaves as he once did, pimping for a lord? Society does not allow the talented to support themselves because it does not value them, leaving them to beg while the rich, the powerful and stupid poke fun at men like

Diderot.[9] The poor genius is left with but two options: to crawl and flatter or to dupe and cheat, either being repugnant to the sensitive mind. If virtue had led the way to fortune, I would either have been virtuous or pretended to be so like others; I was expected to play the fool, and a fool I turned myself into.[9]

History

In Rameau's Nephew, Diderot attacked and ridiculed the critics of the

Lettre sur les aveugles (Letter about the Blind) and his Encyclopédie
had been banned in 1759. Prudence, therefore, may have dictated that he showed it only to a select few.

After the death of Diderot, a copy of the manuscript was sent to Russia, along with Diderot's other works.

Catherine the Great of Russia had come to his help by buying out his library. The arrangement was quite a profitable one for both parties, Diderot becoming the paid librarian of his own book collection, with the task of adding to it as he saw fit, while the Russians enjoyed the prospect of one day being in possession of one of the most selectively stocked European libraries, not to mention Diderot's papers.[11][12]

An appreciative Russian reader communicated the work to

Schiller, who shared it with Goethe who translated it into German in 1805.[1] The first published French version was actually a translation back into French from Goethe's German version. This motivated Diderot's daughter to publish a doctored version of the manuscript. In 1890, the librarian Georges Monval found a copy of Rameau's Nephew by Diderot's own hand while browsing the bouquinistes along the Seine. This complete version is now in a vault in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York City.[13]

Phenomenology of Spirit
.

English translations

Footnotes

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-2081297142
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-19-160477-5
    .
  3. ^ The Literary Encyclopedia
  4. ^ Andrew S. Curran, Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely, Other Press, 2019, p. 196-8
  5. ^ Andrew S. Curran, Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely, Other Press, 2019, p. 195-6
  6. ^ Andrew S. Curran, Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely, Other Press, 2019, p. 189-190
  7. ^ Andrew S. Curran, Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely, Other Press, 2019, p. 193-4
  8. ^ Andrew S. Curran, Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely, Other Press, 2019, p. 192
  9. ^ a b c Translated from Rameau's Nephew
  10. ^ Andrew S. Curran, Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely, Other Press, 2019, p. 196
  11. ^ Catherine and Diderot (in French), consulted December 16, 2007
  12. ^ The Russian National Library owns a unique collection of papers and books from Diderot's library.
  13. ^ Andrew S. Curran, Diderot and the Art of Thinking Freely, Other Press, 2019, p. 196-8.
  14. ISBN 978-1-909254-90-9. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help
    )

External links


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