French protorevolutionary Jean-Jacques Rousseau shot from obscurity to fame and fortune (well, patronage at least) after he entered an essay competition advertised in literary magazine "Le Mercure de France". The competition was organised by the Academy of Dijon, and the question set was "Has the restoration of the sciences and arts tended to purify or corrupt morals?" On the advice of future encyclopedist Diderot, he argued devil's advocate for "corrupt", and won.
If pre-revolutionary France had got its celebrities via the modern Reality TV route, the revolution might never have happened. Alternatively, if it had still happened, its leaders would have been very well prepared for the Reign of Terror.
History xls:
the history of the world in a spreadsheet
No comments:
Post a Comment