Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseauwas a Francophone Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of the 18th century. His political philosophy influenced the Enlightenment in France and across Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the overall development of modern political and educational thought...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth28 June 1712
CityGeneva, Switzerland
CountryFrance
men rights law
It is to law alone that men owe justice and liberty. It is this salutary organ, of the will of all which establishes in civil rights the natural equality between men. It is this celestial voice which dictates to each citizen the precepts of public reason, and teaches him to act according to the rules of his own judgment and not to behave inconsistently with himself. It is with this voice alone that political leaders should speak when. they command.
rights citizens kind
The social compact sets up among the citizens as equality of such kind, that they all bind themselves to observe the same conditions and should therefore all enjoy the same rights.
rights unlimited exceed
Never exceed your rights, and they will soon become unlimited.
men rights humanity
To renounce freedom is to renounce one's humanity, one's rights as a man and equally one's duties.
men rights humanity
To renounce liberty is to renounce being a man, to surrender the rights of humanity and even its duties. For he who renounces everything no indemnity is possible. Such a renunciation is incompatible with man's nature; to remove all liberty from his will is to remove all morality from his acts.
duty obedience strength strongest transforms unless
The strongest is never strong enough always to be master, unless he transforms strength into right, and obedience into duty
child endurance endure learn lesson
Endurance and to be able to endure is the first lesson a child should learn because it's the one they will most need to know.
life man order risk save
Every man has the right to risk his own life in order to save it.
body conscience passions voice
Conscience is the voice of the soul; the passions are the voice of the body
acquire free recovered remember
Free people, remember this maxim: We may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost.
believe likely longer people
Most people believe that the longer you let these things go, the more likely you are to have something go wrong.
american-journalist hate talk teach
I hate books; they only teach us to talk about what we don't know.
faithful integrity performance promise
The person who is slowest in making a promise is most faithful in its performance.
evils others ourselves pity
We pity in others only those evils which we have ourselves experienced