When You’re Tired of Writing, Remember This: One Man Wrote a Quarter of the Encyclopedia by Himself

Writing demands patience and perseverance. Confronting a blank page or screen is often a battle against physical and mental fatigue, and many give up before reaching their potential. Few writers have produced “a lot” in both volume and longevity. Notable examples include English author Charles Dickens, one of the most prolific 19th-century writers, and American writer and professor Isaac Asimov, with more than 500 books and thousands of letters. But there’s nothing like the story of the man who wrote the majority of an encyclopedia.

Louis de Jaucourt. Born in Paris in 1704 to a Protestant noble family, Jaucourt had an early thirst for knowledge, studying theology in Geneva, physics and mathematics at Cambridge, and medicine in Leiden. In addition to mastering five modern languages, he had advanced knowledge of Latin, Greek, and a wide range of disciplines—from literature to the exact sciences—epitomizing the encyclopedic spirit of the Enlightenment era.

However, he made history through his monumental contribution to a groundbreaking project among the French elite, the Encyclopédie.

​​First came the Enlightenment. This was one of the most ambitious intellectual movements of the 18th century. It emerged during a period of cultural and philosophical enthusiasm in Europe, which aimed to liberate knowledge from the constraints of religion and absolutist monarchy and to promote reason as a means to understand the world and improve society.

In France, this intellectual movement gained significant momentum as it confronted the authoritarianism of Louis XV’s monarchy and the clergy’s influence, which saw ideas from the Enlightenment as a threat to their power. In this context, thinkers like François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire), Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Charles-Louis de Secondat (Montesquieu) challenged traditional beliefs, fostering critical thinking that eventually led to the creation of the Encyclopédie.

Creation and evolution. Also known as the Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers, this monumental project began in 1751 under the leadership of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert. Their initial goal was to compile all human knowledge into a single accessible work. Inspired by Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences, Diderot and d’Alembert initially planned the Encyclopédie as a translation, but it quickly evolved into a unique and far more ambitious project.

Across 35 volumes, the Encyclopédie compiled more than 70,000 articles and 3,000 illustrations, covering subjects from natural sciences and the arts to philosophy and craftsmanship—a novel inclusion at the time. Almost 150 collaborators supported the work of Diderot and d’Alembert, including many leading Enlightenment thinkers who contributed and reviewed articles across various fields. Above all, one man stood out: Jaucourt.

A quarter of the Encyclopédie. A devoted contributor, Jaucourt wrote an astounding 17,200 articles, about a quarter of the Encyclopédie’s total. Most remarkably, he worked without financial compensation, often writing up to eight articles a day. An educated and resourceful man, he poured much of his life and resources into the project, even selling his property to help fund it.

Jaucourt wrote on a wide range of topics, including democracy, freedom, equality, and science. His dedication was so profound that Diderot affectionately called him the “slave of the Encyclopédie,” acknowledging his tireless commitment to a project that demanded decades of effort and a large portion of his wealth. Ultimately, he was a man who helped broaden the scope of the work and secure its legacy.

Not his first rodeo. To put Jaucourt’s monumental work in context, he had already spent 20 years writing a massive six-volume, medical dictionary in Latin Lexicon medicum universale before the Encyclopédie. After two decades of labor, he traveled to Amsterdam to evade French censorship and arrange for its printing. Tragically, his ship sank, taking with it the only copy of his completed work. This misfortune only seemed to fuel his desire to write more.

The legacy. The Encyclopédie was a revolutionary work that spread knowledge and advocated for egalitarian, accessible education. Its most notable contribution was its inclusive approach, covering both academic and practical knowledge. It embodied Enlightenment ideals by dissolving boundaries between elite knowledge and applied or “useful” knowledge.

This approach influenced later encyclopedic works and left a lasting mark on modern philosophy and education. The Encyclopédie also encouraged the questioning of absolute power and intellectual independence, and it is considered a foundational pillar of Enlightenment thought, influencing later movements, including the French Revolution.

In short, the Encyclopédie was both a political and social manifesto that challenged the era’s power structures and religious authority. That one man contributed a quarter of its content while living modestly and selling personal possessions makes Jaucourt’s achievement even more remarkable.

Image | Natalia Y. (Unsplash)

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