L'article Admiration de l' Encyclopédie et ses échos chez Diderot

Abstract

Diderot's writings bear witness to his admiration for people and their achievements, whether technical or artistic. After recalling the history of the notion of admiration, we saw that, in the article *Admiration, Diderot defines admiration as prolonged astonishment, subject to the approval of reason. In opposition to Saint-Evremond, for whom admiration is the mark of a small mind, Diderot asserts that while admiration of a common thing is the mark of little spirit, admiration of a masterpiece can elevate the soul. This article of the Encyclopédie is the first in which Diderot uses the expression »ideal model«, the meaning of which is still close to that of Abbé Batteux. This expression plays a decisive role in the Discours sur la poésie dramatique, the Salons, the Paradoxe sur le comédien. Admiration is thus a driving force behind Diderot's aesthetic thinking.