Dipole-lattice and continuum-dielectric models, which are two importan
t ''simplified'' models of solvation, are analyzed and compared. The c
onceptual basis of each approach is briefly examined, and the relation
ship between the two methodologies is explored. The importance of dipo
le lattices in the development of dielectric theory is stressed. The C
lausius-Mossotti equation, which is the result of early attempts at re
lating the dielectric constant to ''microscopic'' quantities, also app
lies to cubic lattices of Langevin dipoles or point polarizabilities.
The presence of thermal fluctuations, rather than inter-dipolar or spe
cific short range interactions is found to be the fundamental reason f
or the deviation of dipolar materials from the Clausius-Mossotti equat
ion. The fact that the continuum dielectric is the infinite dipole den
sity limit of a more general dipole-lattice description is shown by re
covering the continuum results with dipole lattices of high number den
sity. The linearity of a continuum model is shown to be a direct conse
quence of being the infinite density limit of a dipole lattice. Finall
y, it is shown that the discreteness involved in the numerical solutio
n of the Poisson equation cannot capture the effect of the physical di
screteness in dipole lattices.