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Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Quotes

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Famous Jean-Jacques Rousseau Quotes

“Our passions are the chief means of self-preservation; to try to destroy them is therefore as absurd as it is useless; this would be to overcome nature, to reshape God's handiwork. If God bade man annihilate the passions he has given him, God would bid him be and not be; He would contradict himself. He has never given such a foolish commandment, there is nothing like it written on the heart of man, and what God will have a man do, He does not leave to the words of another man. He speaks Himself; His words are written in the secret heart.”

IfsMenTryingHeartMeanDoeSelfWould BePassionSpeakGivenSecretWrittenOvercomingFoolishGods WillAbsurdChiefsUselessCommandmentsPreservationAnother ManSelf PreservationHandiwork
Book:Emile: Or, On Education
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“Once you teach people to say what they do not understand, it is easy enough to get them to say anything you like. v One could wish no easier death than that of Socrates, calmly discussing philosophy with his friends; one could fear nothing worse than that of Jesus, dying in torment, among the insults, the mockery, the curses of the whole nation. In the midst of these terrible sufferings, Jesus prays for his cruel murderers. Yes, if the life and death of Socrates are those of a philosopher, the life and death of Christ are those of a God.”

PeopleIfsEnoughPhilosophyWholeSufferingJesusNationsWishEasyChristTeachDyingPrayingTerribleEasierPhilosopherCurseInsultLife And DeathMidstSay AnythingTormentMurdererMockeryDiscussingFear NotFear Nothing
Author:Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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“Equality is deemed by many a mere speculative chimera, which can never be reduced to practice. But if the abuse is inevitable, does it follow that we ought not to try at least to mitigate it? It is precisely because the force of things tends always to destroy equality that the force of the legislature must always tend to maintain it.”

IfsTryingDoeForcePracticeOughtAbuseMereEqualityInevitableLegislatureChimera
Book:An Inquiry into the Nature of the Social Contract; or principles of political right. Translated from the French
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“My bad head cannot adjust itself to the way things are.... If I want to depict spring, it has to be in wintertime; if I want to describe a beautiful landscape, I must be enclosed within walls; and I have said a hundred times that if I were put in the Bastille, there I would paint a picture of liberty.”

IfsWayWantSaidTruthBeautifulImaginationLibertyWallSpringHundredPaintLandscapeAutobiographyWintertimeBeautiful LandscapesBastille
Author:Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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“The indifference of children towards meat is one proof that the taste for meat is unnatural; their preference is for vegetable foods...Beware of changing this natural taste and making children flesh-eaters, if not for their health's sake, for the sake of their character; for how can one explain away the fact that great meat-eaters are usually fiercer and more cruel than other men; this has been recognised at all times and in all places.”

IfsMenChildrenHas BeensCharacterFactsNaturalTasteSakeProofFleshAll TimeIndifferenceMeatVegetablesPreferenceUnnatural
Author:Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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“The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple enough to believe him was the true founder of civil society. What crimes, wars, murders, what miseries and horrors would the human race have been spared, had some one pulled up the stakes or filled in the ditch and cried out to his fellow men: "Do not listen to this imposter. You are lost if you forget that the fruits of the earth belong to all and the earth to no one!”

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Book:The Basic Political Writings (Second Edition)
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“Teach your scholar to observe the phenomena of nature; you will soon rouse his curiosity, but if you would have it grow, do not be in too great a hurry to satisfy this curiosity. Put the problems before him and let him solve them himself. Let him know nothing because you have told him, but because he has learnt it for himself. Let him not be taught science, let him discover it. If ever you substitute authority for reason he will cease to reason; he will be a mere plaything of other people's thoughts.”

PeopleIfsKnowsReasonProblemGrowsTeachTaughtAuthorityMereCuriositySolveCeaseSubstitutesScholar
Author:Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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“I was not much afraid of punishment, I was only afraid of disgrace.But that I feared more than death, more than crime, more than anything in the world. I should have rejoiced if the earth had swallowed me up and stifled me in the abyss. But my invincible sense of shame prevailed over everything . It was my shame that made me impudent, and the more wickedly I behaved the bolder my fear of confession made me. I saw nothing but the horror of being found out, of being publicly proclaimed, to my face, as a thief, as a liar, and slanderer.”

IfsWorldShouldMadeEarthFacesFoundSawsCrimeHorrorShould HaveShamePunishmentLiarsThievesConfessionAbyssDisgraceInvincible
Book:The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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“Socrates dies with honor, surrounded by his disciples listening to the most tender words -the easiest death that one could wish to die. Jesus dies in pain, dishonor, mockery, the object of universal cursing - the most horrible death that one could fear. At the receipt of the cup of poison, Socrates blesses him who could not give it to him without tears; Jesus, while suffering the sharpest pains, prays for His most bitter enemies. If Socrates lived and died like a philosopher, Jesus lived and died like a god.”

IfsGivingPainSufferingDiesJesusWishChristEnemyObjectsTearsListeningPrayingHonorJesus ChristUniversalDiedPhilosopherHorribleBitterCupsPoisonBlessDiscipleMockeryCursingDishonorReceiptsWish To Die
Author:Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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“Ruthless man: you begin by slaying the animal and then you devour it, as if to slay it twice. It is not enough. You turn against the dead flesh, it revolts you, it must be transformed by fire, boiled and roasted, seasoned and disguised with drugs; you must have butchers, cooks, turnspits, men who will rid the murder of its horrors, who will dress the dead bodies so that the taste decieved by these disguises will not reject what is strange to it, and will feast on corpses, the very sight of which would sicken you.”

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Book:Emile
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“A child who passes through many hands in turn, can never be well brought up. At every change he makes a secret comparison, which continually tends to lessen his respect for those who control him, and with it their authority over him. If once he thinks there are grown-up people with no more sense than children the authority of age is destroyed and his education is ruined.”

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Book:Emile
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“I also realized that the philosophers, far from ridding me of my vain doubts, only multiplied the doubts that tormented me and failed to remove any one of them. So I chose another guide and said, Let me follow the Inner Light; it will not lead me so far astray as others have done, or if it does it will be my own fault, and I shall not go so far wrong if I follow my own illusions as if I trusted to their deceits.”

IfsDoeSaidDonePhilosophyLightMy OwnDoubtIllusionLet MeFaultsPhilosopherGuidesVainDeceitRemoveTrustedLeading MeInner Light
Book:The indispensable Rousseau
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