Thornton, Ann M. “Translating the Garden:
References to Philip Miller’s The Gardener’s Dictionary in the Encyclopédie.” Using the Encyclopédie: Ways of Knowing, Ways of Reading, edited by J. Hayes and D. Brewer, Voltaire Foundation, 2002, pp. 211–28. repository.bilkent.edu.tr, http://repository.bilkent.edu.tr/handle/11693/51426.
Thornton begins her analysis of Philip Miller’s The Gardener’s Dictionary and the Encyclopédie with a brief description of the various editions of The Gardener’s Dictionary as well as a background of Miller himself. Miller, notably, was an expert in botany and the Encyclopedists were wise to cite him; additionally, Miller was English which, to Thornton, emphasizes the importance of translation as a means of communication in eighteenth-century France. She then discusses the five main Encyclopédie contributors who relied on Miller to formulate their arguments: notably, Pierre Daubenton, Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, Gabriel-François Venel, Denis Diderot, and the Chevalier de Jaucourt. About each she describes the extent to which Miller is cited (or not cited but used, regardless) including details on what information was utilized (e.g. from what edition of Miller), how information was integrated into the respective authors’ articles, the accuracy of translation, and how a contributor’s personal experiments were tied in with Miller’s. All in all, Thornton claims, the interactions between the Encyclopedists and the English Miller identify an important cultural exchange between cultures and puts an accent on the Encyclopedists’ goals of including specialist knowledge and promoting proper dissemination through the work that is the Encyclopédie.
Basic Information
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Language: English
Decade: 2000s
Main Classification: Botany, Contributors
Related Sources
*In Progress*
Notes
1. Quotes are left in original French.
Updates
3/2/2021: Created page.