Quotes from Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Si donc on écarte du pacte social ce qui n'est pas de son essence, on trouvera qu'il se réduit aux termes suivants: Chacun de nous met en commun sa personne et toute sa puissance sous la suprême direction de la volonté générale; et nous recevons en corps chaque membre comme partie indivisible du tout.

si l'opposition des intérêts particuliers a rendu nécessaire l'établissement des sociétés, c'est l'accord de ces mêmes intérêts qui l'a rendu possible.

Ma mémoire, qui me retrace uniquement les objets agréables, est l'heureux contrepoids de mon imagination effarouchée, qui ne me fait prévoir que de cruels avenirs.

A misfortune never makes me uneasy provided I know in what it consists; but it is my nature to be afraid of darkness, I tremble at the appearance of it. The sight of the most hideous monster would, I am of opinion, alarm me but little; but if by night I were to see a figure in a white sheet I should be afraid of it.

se comprenderá entonces cómo la diferencia de hombre a hombre debe ser menor en el estado de naturaleza que en el de sociedad, y cómo la desigualdad natural debe aumentar en la especie humana por la desigualdad de educación.

Dünyan?n gürültüsü beni sersem ediyor, yaln?zl?k içimi s?k?yordu; boyuna yer deÄŸiÅŸtirmek gereÄŸini duymakta, hiçbir yerde rahat etmemekteydim.

Bu ortakça özgürlük insan yarad?l???n?n bir sonucudur.

The problem is to find a form of association which will defend and protect with the whole common force the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey himself alone, and remain as free as before.

Mais le corps politique ou le souverain ne tirant son être que de la sainteté du contrat ne peut jamais s'obliger, même envers autrui, à rien qui déroge à cet acte primitif, comme d'aliéner quelque portion de lui-même ou de se soumettre à un autre souverain. Violer l'acte par lequel il existe serait s'anéantir, et ce qui n'est rien ne produit rien.

Allowing that nature intended we should always enjoy good health, I dare almost affirm that a state of reflection is a state against nature, and that the man who meditates is a depraved animal.

Hükümdar ya da yasac? olsayd?m, ne demek gerektiÄŸini söyleyip vaktimi boÅŸuna harcamaz, ya yapaca??m? yapar ya da susard?m.

Binbir yere baÄŸlanmaya çal???rken hepsi elimden kaç?p da kendi kendime kal?nca, dengemi yeniden buldum. Her yandan s?k??t?r?lmama kar??n o dengeyi koruyorsam, art?k hiçbir ÅŸeye baÄŸlanmad???mdan, yaln?zca kendime dayand???mdand?r.

Sería preciso que mi ser moral fuera aniquilada para que la justicia se me volviera indiferente. El espectáculo de la injusticia y de la maldad hace aún que me hierva la sangre de cólera; los actos de virtud en que no veo ni fanfarronería ni ostentación me hacen siempre vibrar de alegría y todavía me arrancan dulces lágrimas.

Niemand kümmert sich mehr um die Wirklichkeit; alle setzen ihr Wesen in den Schein. Als Sklaven und Narren ihrer Eigenliebe leben sie dahin, nicht um zu leben, sondern um andere glauben zu machen, sie hätten gelebt.

To endure is the first thing that a child ought to learn, and that which he will have the most need to know.

Respect childhood, and leave nature to act for a long time before you get involved with acting in its place.

Each of us puts his person and all his power in common under the supreme direction of the general will, and, in our corporate capacity, we receive each member as an indivisible part of the whole.

If then the people promises simply to obey, by that very act it dissolves itself and loses what makes it a people; the moment a master exists, there is no longer a Sovereign, and from that moment the body politic has ceased to exist.

Above all he is jealous of his own self-respect; this is his most valued possession and it would be a real loss to him were he to acquire the respect of others at the expense of his own.

The mind has its needs, as does the body. The needs of the latter are the foundations of society; the needs of the former make it pleasant.

Il fut mis dans une maison de charité, où l'âge et le regret de se voir loin de sa famille le mirent au tombeau presque en arrivant.

Russia will never be really civilized, because it was civilized too soon. Peter has a genius for imitation; but he lacked true genius, which is creative and makes all from nothing. ... His first wish was to make Germans or Englishmen, when he ought to have been making Russians; and he prevented his subjects from ever becoming what they might have been by persuading them that they were what they are not.

We are ever looking forward or backward, ruminating on what is past, and can return no more, or anticipating the future, which may never arrive; there is nothing solid to which the heart can attach itself, neither have we here below any pleasures that are lasting.

Given to exaggeration in its feelings, a crowd is only impressed by excessive sentiments. An orator wishing to move a crowd must make an abusive use of violent affirmations. To exaggerate, to affirm, to resort to repetitions, and never to attempt to prove anything by reasoning are methods of argument well known to speakers at public meetings.