6. 1792: Naigeon’s Article on ‘Diderot’ in the Encyclopédie méthodique

This short chapter discusses Naigeon’s article on ‘Diderot’, published as part of his Encyclopédie méthodique, and offers an explanation as to why Naigeon chose to advertise his forthcoming Mémoires historiques et philosophiques within this piece of writing. While limiting discussion to Diderot’s published works within the main body of his article, Naigeon explicitly advises readers to consult the Mémoires in the introduction and conclusion of ‘Diderot’. After consciously drawing readers’ attention to his own unreleased manuscript, Naigeon comments on an unnamed work by Diderot more ‘profound’ than any other of the philosopher’s writings. Warman argues that Naigeon was alluding here to the Éléments de physiologie, and wanted to build anticipation around a text that he felt would shake the foundations of Diderotian scholarship as soon as it entered the public domain.