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Quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

“War then, is a relation - not between man and man but between state and state and individuals are enemies only accidentally not as men, nor even as citizens but as soldiers not as members of their country, but as its defenders”

Quote by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Work

On the Social Contract

This book delves into the foundational concepts of political philosophy, examining the principles of governance and the relationship between individuals and the state. It investigates the origins of political power, the role of the social contract, and the moral responsibilities of both rulers and citizens. more

Author

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a French philosopher, writer, and composer, considered one of the most important figures of the Enlightenment. His works have had a profound impact on subsequent literature, political, and social theories. more

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“Let it not, therefore, be said that the Sovereign is not subject to the laws of his State; since the contrary is a true proposition of the right of nations, which flattery has sometimes attacked but good princes have always defended as the tutelary divinity of their dominions. How much more legitimate is it to say with the wise Plato, that the perfect felicity of a kingdom consists in the obedience of subjects to their prince, and of the prince to the laws, and in the laws being just and constantly directed to the public good!”

“The past slips from our grasp. It leaves us only scattered things. The bond that united them eludes us. Our imagination usually fills in the void by making use of preconceived theories...Archaeology, then, does not supply us with certitudes, but rather with vague hypotheses. And in the shade of these hypotheses some artists are content to dream, considering them less as scientific facts than as sources of inspiration.”