The 70 most famous quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

This Swiss thinker was critical of the idea that technology and science bring progress.

The following quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau are useful to understand the way of thinking of this philosopher. are useful to understand the way of thinking of this Swiss philosopher.

His thinking as a revolutionary intellectual was reflected in some of his most important works, such as The Social ContractEmile*, or On Education.

The 70 most famous quotes of Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in Switzerland in June 1712. Among all his occupations philosopher, pedagogue and writer.He was also a musician, as well as a botanist and naturalist.

In spite of the fact that as an intellectual he is included within the current of the Enlightenment.Rousseau's thought was characterized by being opposed to that of the major representatives of this current, such as Voltaire, with whom he maintained a deep enmity.

Rousseau's ideas were a revolution in the pedagogical currents of his time and his political ideas had a great influence on the evolution of the republican theories characteristic of the French Revolution.

His main contributions to political philosophy were, among other things, the concepts of "alienation" and "general will". It was this latter thought that Kant himself turned into his "categorical imperative".

Below is a selection of quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the philosopher who best defined the essence of the European Romanticism that was to come.

1. Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains

A phrase from the 18th century that is still very relevant today.

2. Man is good by nature, it is society that corrupts him.

At birth we are ignorant of the concepts of good and evilIt is our environment that determines it.

3. The only habit to be taught to children is not to submit themselves to any

Autonomy during childhood is essential for the correct development of the child.

4. The right to vote is a right that nothing and no one can take away from the citizens.

The basis on which modern democracies should be built.

5. To renounce our freedom is to renounce our quality as men, and with this all the duties of humanity.

The freedom of people should be intrinsic to their condition of human beings.

6. It is more valuable to have the respect than the admiration of people.

Admiration is usually superficial, respect is well-founded.

7. A good parent is worth a hundred teachers

Home education is fundamental in the upbringing of children.

8. Faith is a matter of geography

Although beliefs, like cultures, can be imported and exported.

9. It is a very necessary foresight to understand that it is not possible to foresee everything.

A sentence with an overwhelming logic but which we do not always remember.

10. We are curious in proportion to our culture

The more we know, the more we crave knowledge.

11. To be an adult is to be alone

A somewhat pessimistic view of life, but true on many occasions.

12. No one can be happy if he does not appreciate himself.

A high self-esteem is essential for a good functioning in any plane of the life.

13. I do not know a greater enemy of the man than the one who is a friend of everybody

Falsehood is the worst enemy of good relationships.

14. The man who has lived the longest is not the one who has lived the longest, but the one who has experienced the most of life.

An ode to living intensely every minute of our lives.

15. There is a book that is always open to all eyes: nature.

The beauty and wisdom of nature are available to everyone.

16. Reason often deceives us, conscience never does.

We cannot always trust what our logic dictates.

17. Falsehood has infinite combinations, but truth has only one way of being.

Although lies may come in a thousand forms, absolute truth has only one.

18. The first step toward good is not to do evil.

Although it seems obvious, sometimes we forget it. One of Rousseau's phrases based on aphorisms.

19. Patience is bitter, but its fruits are sweet.

It is common knowledge that good things come to those who wait.

20. Regrets are dormant in prosperity and become more acute in bad times.

In the hardest moments all our ghosts tend to arise.

21. Every man is useful to mankind by the mere fact of his existence.

Each and every person on the planet is important for the development of the planet.

22. If you remove from the hearts the love of beauty, you will remove all the charm of living.

The beauty of things is one of the great pleasures of life.

23. It is necessary to be ashamed to commit a fault, not to repair it.

We must never forget: to rectify our errors is to be wise people.

24. Children have their own ways of seeing, thinking and feeling; nothing is more foolish than to try to replace them with ours.

It is necessary for children to live their childhood as such, without trying to impose on them the vision or customs of adults.

25. I have always believed that the good was only the beautiful put into action.

There is great beauty within good works.

26. He who does not hate vice very much, does not love virtue very much.

Although a little outdated for the present time, it is necessary to set some limits in our lives.

27. The cities are the abyss of the human species.

The number of inhabitants of a city is inversely proportional to the relationship between them.

28. The conscience is the voice of the souls, the passions are the voices of the body.

Virtue is found in knowing how to find the balance.

29. Love letters are written beginning without knowing what is going to be said, and end without knowing what has been said.

Love always tends to cloud our minds.

30. Equality in wealth must consist in no citizen being so rich that he can buy another, and no one so poor that he is forced to sell himself.

A phrase that should be applied to any context, place or time that the human species goes through.

31. Injuries are the reasons of those who are guilty.

Guilt deprives us of reasoning to debate.

32. The strongest is not always strong enough to be master.

Leaders are not built on strength, but on aptitude.

33. I detest bad maxims more than bad actions.

Bad principles can be worse than bad conduct.

34. You will never be a friar unless you are first an altar boy.

In order to reach the highest, one must always start from the lowest.

35. I would rather be a man of paradoxes than a man of prejudices.

While paradoxes make us think prejudices blind us..

36. If reason makes a man, feelings drive him.

Are feelings the motor of our lives?

37. All passions are good as long as one is master of them, and all passions are bad when they enslave us.

There is no greater slavery than when it is one's own feelings that impose themselves.

38. Fears, suspicions, coldness, caution, hatred and treachery are often hidden under that uniform and fallacious veil of politeness

Under the facade of politeness can hide the worst of intentions.

39. The soul resists acute pains much better than prolonged sadness.

The feelings of sadness that settle in us can be more toxic than a bad experience.

40.He is truly free who only desires what he is capable of realizing and who does what he likes.

A truly inspiring maxim.

41. It is very difficult to think nobly when one thinks only to live.

If we think only of ourselves, we will rarely be good people.

42. There is a big difference between traveling to see countries and traveling to see people.

The best thing about traveling is to integrate into the culture we are visiting and not to be a mere tourist.

43. General and abstract ideas are the source of humanity's greatest mistakes.

Thinking concretely is a guarantee of success.

44. To work constitutes an indispensable duty for the social man. Rich or poor, powerful or weak, every idle citizen is a thief.

To work is to make ourselves useful to society.

45. Man suffers few evils, with the exception of those which he attracts to himself by the abuse of his faculties.

There is no worse enemy than oneself.

46. The money that one has is an instrument of liberty; the money that one seeks is an instrument of servitude.

We will never be completely free if we do not stop depending on material things.

47. My greatest misfortune has always been not to be able to resist flattery.

Vanity makes us slaves.

48. Man is a miracle without interest

The potential of the human being is inversely proportional to his interest in exploiting it.

49. Intonation is the soul of speech

It is more important how you say it than what you say it.

50. An honest man will never find a better friend than his wife.

Should our partner also be our best friend?

51. When coming out of certain mouths, the truth itself has a bad smell.

The truth always has as many interpretations and interests as the people who tell it.

52. If there were a nation of gods, they would govern themselves democratically; but such a perfect government is not suitable for men.

Is man capable of achieving true democracy?

53. The government had its origin in the purpose of finding a form of association that defends and protects the person and the property of each one with the common force of all.

A phrase of Rousseau's that should be remembered by many of today's politicians.

54. Freedom is obedience to the law that one has designed for oneself.

We are slaves of our morals.

55. Freedom is not a fruit that grows in all climates and for that reason it is not within the reach of all peoples.

Unfortunately, it is a universal reason although it should not be so.

56. Vice seldom appears in opposition to honesty; rather it almost always takes the guise of the latter

Integrity or decency is the best mask for the corrupt.

57. It is not enough for a wife to be faithful; it is necessary that her husband, her friends and her neighbors believe in her fidelity.

What would Caesar's wife think?

58. It is very difficult to submit to the obedience of one who does not seek to command.

Those who do not wish to command, much less wish to be commanded.

59. Absolute silence leads to sadness. This is the image of death

A great phrase of Rousseau to reflect on.

60. What wisdom can be found that is greater than goodness?

To be a good man is the greatest thing to aspire to?

61. Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves.

Is reality objective, or is it we who alter it?

62. He who blushes is already guilty; true innocence is ashamed of nothing.

Lies cannot be hidden for a long period of time, they always end up coming to light.

63. The world of reality has its limits; the world of the imagination does not.

Creative people are masters of an infinite universe.

64. Happiness: A good bank account, a good cook and a good digestion

Is money and food the most important thing in the world?

65. I may not be better, but at least I'm different.

A genuine personality has nothing to envy to being perfect.

66. Childhood is the dream of reason

Are the first years of our life where we dream the most and think the least?

67. It is a mania shared by philosophers of all times to deny what exists and to explain what does not exist.

Philosophy has always been based on doubting the pre-established and analyzing what is not known.

• Related article, "How are Psychology and Philosophy similar?"

68. I hate books, they only teach us to talk about things we know nothing about.

Is the best education in books or in experiences?

69. Virtue is a state of war and to live in it we always have to fight against ourselves.

Temptations are always lurking.

70. Money is seed money and the first coin is sometimes harder to come by than the second million.

Is it true that money attracts more money?