Philosophical Dictionary

The incendiary book that skewers the sacred institutions of eighteenth-century France from the famous Enlightenment philosopher and author of Candide.

From adultery to virtue, this alphabetically organized collection of essays gives you a glimpse into the brilliant mind of Voltaire. Instantly placed on the Vatican’s list of banned books when it was originally published in 1764, Philosophical Dictionary showcases Voltaire’s cutting wit and fearlessness in letting loose his thoughts—no matter how controversial—on Roman Catholicism, beauty, democracy, liberty, nature, prejudices, tyranny, superstition, tolerance, and other subjects that were considered off-limits in his day. This timeless classic reveals a revolutionary mind and its ideas, those at the core of progressive thought then and now.

“The book still has the power to make you gasp at its audacity . . . I cannot think of any political work this old which survives modern scrutiny so well—not so much because it contains essential truths, but because it is still such fun to read. Dangerous fun, that is: it’s like being in the presence of a particularly enraged alternative comedian, an Enlightenment Bill Hicks, perhaps.” —The Guardian