A diplomacia das letras no século XVIII: um exercício de civilização em nome dos valores das Luzes

Abstract

The diplomacy of letters encompasses the literary activity of many men of letters who were involved in the public affairs of their states, or whose careers took place around the courts and power centers of the Ancien Régime. As secretaries, advisors, businessmen, close to politics, they were able to observe the dynamics of power and express their thoughts on the history of their time in their literary output (poems, letters, travel logs, newspapers, etc.). Thanks to these men of letters, all the values of the Republic of Letters of the 18th century (peace, private and public happiness, tolerance, etc.) came into play in political history: their struggle for a diplomacy willing to embrace the values of the Enlightenment shows the importance of communication between culture and politics, which is one of the strongest legacies of the 18th century, and which should inspire international relations even today.