Authors:

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Quotes - Page 9

All Quotes Abuse Adversity Age Art Atheism Birth Character Childhood Children Conscience Country Death Democracy Desire Dignity Doubt Earth Education Evil Faith Feelings Freedom Genius Giving Happiness Hate Heart Humanity Imagination Innocence Inspirational Jesus Judging Judgment Justice Knowledge Laughter Liberty Life Love Lying Money Morality Motivational Nature Obedience Passion Philosophy Politics Prejudice Reading Revolution Risk Science Scripture Silence Slavery Sleep Social Contract Soul Success Suffering Talent Teaching Time Truth War Writing
The more humanity owes him, the more society denies him. Every door is shut against him, even when he has a right to its being opened: and if he ever obtains justice, it is with much greater difficulty than others

The more humanity owes him, the more society denies him. Every door is shut against him, even when he has a right to its being opened: and if he ever obtains justice, it is with much greater difficulty than others obtain favors.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Doors, Justice, Diversity
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1993). “The Social Contract ; And, The Discourses”, Everyman's Library

Whence do I get my rules of conduct? I find them in my heart. Whatever I feel to be good is good. Whatever I feel to be evil is evil. Conscience is the best of casuists.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Heart, Evil, Be Good

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.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Government, Uniting, May
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (2012). “On the Social Contract”, p.19, Courier Corporation

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!

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Wise, Plato, Law
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Gustave Le Bon, Charles Mackay, Wilfred Trotter, Everett Dean Martin (2017). “WHAT IS MOB MENTALITY? - 8 Essential Books on Crowd Psychology: Psychology of Revolution, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Instincts of the Herd, The Social Contract, A Moving-Picture of Democracy...”, p.252, e-artnow

Ah, that is a perfume in which I delight; when they roast coffee near my house, I hasten to open the door to take in all the aroma.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Coffee, Doors, House

Consolation indiscreetly pressed upon us, when we are suffering undue affliction, only serves to increase our pain, and to render our grief more poignant.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Pain, Grief, Suffering

Singing and dancing alone will not advance one in the world. [Fr., Qui bien chante et bien danse fait un metier qui peu avance.]

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Success, Dancing, Singing

The indifference of children towards meat is one proof that the taste for meat is unnatural; their preference is for vegetable foods...Beware of changing this natural taste and making children flesh-eaters, if not for their health's sake, for the sake of their character; for how can one explain away the fact that great meat-eaters are usually fiercer and more cruel than other men; this has been recognised at all times and in all places.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Children, Character, Men

War is then not a relationship between one man and another, but a relationship between one State and another, in which individuals are enemies only by accident, not as men, nor even as citizens, but as soldiers; not as members of the fatherland, but as its defenders. Finally, any State can only have other States, and not men, as enemies, inasmuch as it is impossible to fix a true relation between things of different natures.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
War, Men, Soldier

From the first moment of life, men ought to begin learning to deserve to live; and, as at the instant of birth we partake of the rights of citizenship, that instant ought to be the beginning of the exercise of our duty.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Exercise, Men, Rights
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1973). “The social contract: and, Discourses”, Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd

The French painter Rousseau was once asked why he put a naked woman on a red sofa in the middle of his jungle pictures. He answered, 'I needed a bit of red there.'

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Naked, Red, Middle

Too much apparatus, designed to guide us in experiments and to supplement the exactness of our senses, makes us neglect to use those senses...The more ingenious our apparatus, the coarser and more unskillful are our senses. We surround ourselves with tools and fail to use those which nature has provided every one of us.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Technology, Tools, Use

Do to others as you would have others do to you, inspires all men with that other maxim of natural goodness a great deal less perfect, but perhaps more useful: Do good to yourself with as little prejudice as you can to others.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Men, Perfect, Inspire

I undertake the same project as Montaigne, but with an aim contrary to his own: for he wrote his Essays only for others, and I write my reveries only for myself.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Writing, Projects, Aim

The body politic, as well as the human body, begins to die as soon as it is born, and carries itself the causes of its destruction.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Body, Politics, Causes
Jean Jacques Rousseau (2015). “The Social Contract”, p.248, Jean Jacques Rousseau

If, by chance, someone among those men of extraordinary talent is found who has firmness of soul and who refuses to yield to the genius of his age and to debase himself with childish works, woe unto him! He will die in poverty and oblivion.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Men, Woe Unto, Yield

I have never thought, for my part, that man's freedom consists in his being able to do whatever he wills, but that he should not, by any human power, be forced to do what is against his will.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Men, Able, Should

He who pretends to look on death without fear lies. All men are afraid of dying, this is the great law of sentient beings, without which the entire human species would soon be destroyed.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Death, Lying, Men

Beware of listening to this impostor; you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Listening, Immigration, Earth
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (2005). “On the Origin of Inequality”, p.62, Cosimo, Inc.

But I am mistaken in speaking of a Christian republic; the terms are mutually exclusive. Christianity preaches only servitude and dependence. Its spirit is so favorable to tyranny that it always profits by such a regime. True Christians are made to be slaves, and they know it and do not much mind; this short life counts for too little in their eyes.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Christian, Short Life, Eye
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, G. D. H. Cole (2003). “On the Social Contract”, p.95, Courier Corporation

I loved too sincerely, too completely, I venture to say, to be able to be happy easily.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Venture, Able, Sincerely
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1996). “The Confessions”, p.73, Wordsworth Editions

Base souls have no faith in great individuals.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Faith, Soul, Individual

It is believed that physiognomy is only a simple development of the features already marked out by nature. It is my opinion, however, that in addition to this development, the features come insensibly to be formed and assume their shape from the frequent and habitual expression of certain affections of the soul. These affections are marked on the countenance; nothing is more certain than this; and when they turn into habits, they must leave on it durable impressions.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Simple, Expression, Soul

In truth, laws are always useful to those with possessions and harmful to those who have nothing; from which it follows that the social state is advantageous to men only when all possess something and none has too much.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Men, Law, Too Much

The members of a body-politic call it "the state" when it is passive, "the sovereign" when it is active, and a "power" when they compare it with others of its kind. Collectively they use the title "people," and they refer to one another individually as "citizens" when speaking of their participation in the authority of the sovereign, and as "subjects" when speaking of their subordination to the laws of the state.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Law, People, Titles

You May Also Like: