Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Social contract theory

Early Modern influential 124 sayings

Sayings by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

To be truly free, we must obey only those laws we have prescribed for ourselves.

1762 — The Social Contract, Book I, Chapter VIII
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A good father is a hundred schoolmasters.

1762 — Emile, or On Education, Book IV
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The man who has lived most is not he who has counted most years, but he who has most felt life.

1762 — Emile, or On Education, Book I
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All my misfortunes come from my having loved too much, and having been too much loved.

1766 — Letter to Madame de Warens
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The most useful and honorable science is that of man; the most useful book, the one that makes us know ourselves.

1762 — Emile, or On Education, Book I
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Everything is in a state of flux on this earth. Nothing keeps a form for long, and our affections, which are attached to external things, pass and change as they do.

1782 (posthumous publication) — Reveries of the Solitary Walker, First Walk
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It is by the passion of love that the sexes are drawn together, and by the passion of love that they are distinguished.

1762 — Emile, or On Education, Book V
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Nature has made me unique. If I am not better than others, at least I am different.

1782 (posthumous publication) — The Confessions, Book I
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The truth is not in books, but in nature.

c. 1760s — Attributed, reflects his emphasis on direct experience and natural education.
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I know what is good, and I do it not; I know what is evil, and I follow it.

1782 (posthumous publication) — The Confessions, Book IV
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It is in the heart of man that the true source of both good and evil resides.

c. 1750s-1760s — Attributed, a core idea in his moral philosophy.
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There are no morals in nature.

1755 — Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men
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To renounce liberty is to renounce being a man, to surrender the rights of humanity and even its duties.

1762 — The Social Contract, Book I, Chapter IV
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The only good political institutions are those which are capable of making a people change, and of inspiring in them a love of virtue.

1762 — The Social Contract, Book II, Chapter XII
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The most dangerous of all enterprises is to make a man think.

c. 1760s — Attributed, often discussed in relation to 'Emile'.
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It is not enough to be happy, one must also be seen to be happy.

c. 1760s — Attributed, a cynical observation on social conformity.
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To be loved is to be useful, to be useful is to be loved.

c. 1760s — Attributed, reflects his ideal of social contribution.
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The world is the book of women; everything they know, they have learned from it.

1762 — Emile, or On Education, Book V
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There is no original sin, except that of being born.

c. 1750s-1760s — Attributed, reflects his belief in the natural goodness of man.
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The most important, most useful, and most neglected branch of education is that which teaches us to know ourselves.

1762 — Emile, or On Education, Book I
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