<P> The massive work was arranged according to a "tree of knowledge". The tree reflected the marked division between the arts and sciences, which was largely a result of the rise of empiricism . Both areas of knowledge were united by philosophy, or the trunk of the tree of knowledge . The Enlightenment's desacrilization of religion was pronounced in the tree's design, particularly where theology accounted for a peripheral branch, with black magic as a close neighbour . As the Encyclopédie gained popularity, it was published in quarto and octavo editions after 1777 . The quarto and octavo editions were much less expensive than previous editions, making the Encyclopédie more accessible to the non-elite . Robert Darnton estimates that there were approximately 25 000 copies of the Encyclopédie in circulation throughout France and Europe before the French Revolution . The extensive, yet affordable encyclopedia came to represent the transmission of Enlightenment and scientific education to an expanding audience . </P> <P> One of the most important developments that the Enlightenment era brought to the discipline of science was its popularization . An increasingly literate population seeking knowledge and education in both the arts and the sciences drove the expansion of print culture and the dissemination of scientific learning . The new literate population was due to a high rise in the availability of food . This enabled many people to rise out of poverty, and instead of paying more for food, they had money for education . Popularization was generally part of an overarching Enlightenment ideal that endeavoured "to make information available to the greatest number of people". As public interest in natural philosophy grew during the 18th century, public lecture courses and the publication of popular texts opened up new roads to money and fame for amateurs and scientists who remained on the periphery of universities and academies . More formal works included explanations of scientific theories for individuals lacking the educational background to comprehend the original scientific text . Sir Isaac Newton's celebrated Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica was published in Latin and remained inaccessible to readers without education in the classics until Enlightenment writers began to translate and analyze the text in the vernacular . </P> <P> The first significant work that expressed scientific theory and knowledge expressly for the laity, in the vernacular and with the entertainment of readers in mind, was Bernard de Fontenelle's Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds (1686). The book was produced specifically for women with an interest in scientific writing and inspired a variety of similar works . These popular works were written in a discursive style, which was laid out much more clearly for the reader than the complicated articles, treatises and books published by the academies and scientists . Charles Leadbetter's Astronomy (1727) was advertised as "a Work entirely New" that would include "short and easie (sic) Rules and Astronomical Tables". The first French introduction to Newtonianism and the Principia was Eléments de la philosophie de Newton, published by Voltaire in 1738 . Émilie du Châtelet's translation of the Principia, published after her death in 1756, also helped to spread Newton's theories beyond scientific academies and the university . Writing for a growing female audience, Francesco Algarotti published Il Newtonianism per le dame, which was a tremendously popular work and was translated from Italian into English by Elizabeth Carter . A similar introduction to Newtonianism for women was produced by Henry Pemberton . His A View of Sir Isaac Newton's Philosophy was published by subscription . Extant records of subscribers show that women from a wide range of social standings purchased the book, indicating the growing number of scientifically inclined female readers among the middling class . During the Enlightenment, women also began producing popular scientific works themselves . Sarah Trimmer wrote a successful natural history textbook for children titled The Easy Introduction to the Knowledge of Nature (1782), which was published for many years after in eleven editions . </P> <P> Most work on the Enlightenment emphasizes the ideals discussed by intellectuals, rather than the actual state of education at the time . Leading educational theorists like England's John Locke and Switzerland's Jean Jacques Rousseau both emphasized the importance of shaping young minds early . By the late Enlightenment, there was a rising demand for a more universal approach to education, particularly after the American and French Revolutions . </P>

How did ideas from the age of enlightenment influence latin america in the 19th century