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1. In the midst of the massive—and often cataclysmic—social changes that violently reshaped Europe during the eighteenth century, philosophers and other thinkers championed reason and the power of the human mind, contributing to the somewhat misleading appellation of this prerevolutionary period as an "Age of Enlightenment."
2. Because literature was produced by a small cultural elite, it tended to address limited audiences of the authors' social peers, who would not necessarily notice the class- and race-specific values that served as a basis for proper conduct and actions outlined in poems, novels, and belles lettres.
3. The notion of a permanent, divinely ordained, natural order offered comfort to those aware of the flaws in the actual social order.
4. Reliance on convention as a mode of social and literary control expresses the constant efforts to achieve an ever-elusive stability in the eighteenth century.
5. By exercising their right to criticize their fellow men and women, satirists evoked a rhetorical ascendancy that was obtained by an implicit alliance with literary and moral tradition.
6. Though she outwardly declared her humility and religious subordination, Sor (Sister) Juana InÈs de la Cruz managed to advance claims for women's rights in a more profound and far-reaching way than anyone had achieved in the past.

Text:
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1. In the midst of the massive—and often cataclysmic—social changes that violently reshaped Europe during the eighteenth century, philosophers and other thinkers championed reason and the power of the human mind, contributing to the somewhat misleading appellation of this prerevolutionary period as an "Age of Enlightenment." New commerce permitted the accumulation of new wealth, which threatened the established hierarchies of social order, particularly the monarchies, when the newly wealthy demanded political power. Similarly, the schisms within the Christian Church gave witness to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which had granted toleration of Protestants in France, as well as to rebellions around the succession to the throne in England. Religious differences carried over into social and political differences, so that division within European powers, especially France and England, were of greater significance than divisions between them. The Age of Enlightenment also watched as the American and French revolutions changed the ethos and tenor of European life.
2. Both French and English society were strictly hierarchical. Because literature was produced by a small cultural elite, it tended to address limited audiences of the authors' social peers, who would not necessarily notice the class- and race-specific values that served as a basis for proper conduct and actions outlined in poems, novels, and belles lettres. For the upper classes, public life mattered more than private life. In France, women controlled the intellectual life of literary salons; in England, women were allowed no such commanding positions. Beginning around 1660, authors such as MoliËre, Swift, Pope, and Voltaire called attention to the deceptions of well-defined codes of behavior, though they did not go so far as to consider whether the codes themselves might be at fault. Literary "expressiveness" was linked to shared opinions rather than to the eccentricities of individual will.
3. Nature was often set against society as a measure of reality—nature in the double sense of an inherent order of things and of human nature. The notion of a permanent, divinely ordained, natural order offered comfort to those aware of the flaws in the actual social order. As a consequence, thinkers tended to emphasize notions of a common humanity at the expense of considering cultural divergencies. Genuine conviction in the truth of universality enabled standards for excellence to appear as though they were not culturally specific.
4. As with eighteenth-century literature, society operated on the basis of established codes and conventions. Guides to manners were wildly popular, based on the assumption that rigorous commitment to decorum would help to preserve society's "important" values, emphasizing a continuation from past to present. Literary conventions followed the classical assumption that literature existed both to delight and instruct the reader. Each literary genre developed its own means of achieving this goal. Reliance on convention as a mode of social and literary control expresses the constant efforts to achieve an ever-elusive stability in the eighteenth century. Nonetheless, the Ancients and the Moderns debated the value of permanence versus the value of change.
5. To different degrees and on different occasions, MoliËre, Pope, Swift, and Voltaire wrote in the satirical mode. By exercising their right to criticize their fellow men and women, satirists evoked a rhetorical ascendancy that was obtained by an implicit alliance with literary and moral tradition. The popularity of satire suggests another version of the conflict between reason and passion, the forces of stability and instability. By contrast, Racine adapted the classical form of the tragedy to new ends.
6. Though she outwardly declared her humility and religious subordination, Sor (Sister) Juana InÈs de la Cruz managed to advance claims for women's rights in a more profound and far-reaching way than anyone had achieved in the past. It is perhaps unexpected that this defense of women's intellectual rights should come from a Mexican nun. Sor Juana also wrote lyric poetry and drama, achieving recognition in the Spanish-speaking world as the "Tenth Muse."