Leveled Readings / Denis Diderot: “Encyclopedia,” from the Encyclopédie (1755)
Denis Diderot: “Encyclopedia,” from the Encyclopédie (1755)
Denis Diderot, “Encyclopedia,” Encyclopédie, vol. 5 (1755), trans. Philip Stewart
These are adaptations, not the original. The original wording is always shown first. Each adapted version restates the same passage at about a grade 4, grade 7, or grade 10 reading level without adding or removing ideas. Quote the original in student writing.
Original wording
“…the purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect knowledge disseminated around the globe; to set forth its general system to the men with whom we live, and transmit it to those who will come after us…”
Adapted · about grade 4
Diderot said an encyclopedia gathers knowledge from all over the world. It shares that knowledge with people now and saves it for people in the future.
Adapted · about grade 7
The purpose of an encyclopedia, Diderot wrote, is to gather knowledge scattered across the world, explain how it fits together to people today, and pass it on to future generations.
Adapted · about grade 10
The purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect knowledge scattered around the globe, to set out its general system to the people we live with, and to pass it on to those who come after us.