Jean Jacques Rousseau Puns

The Enlightenment philosopher

My child, do not look to me for scholarly speeches or profound arguments. I am no great philosopher, nor do I desire to be one. I have, however, a certain amount of common sense and a constant devotion to the truth. I have no wish to argue with you nor even to convince you; it is enough for me to show you, in all simplicity of heart, what I really think. Consult your own heart while I speak; that is all I ask. If I am wrong, it is in good faith; that is enough for my error not to be imputed to me as a crime: if you were to be mistaken in the same way, there is no great harm done either. If I am right, we are both endowed with reason, we have both the same motive for listening to the voice of reason. Why shouldn't we see eye to eye?

By birth I was a peasant and poor; to till the ground was my portion; but my parents thought it a more beautiful thing that I should learn to get my living as a priest and they found means to send me to college. I am quite sure that neither my parents nor I had any idea of seeking after what was good, useful, or true; we only sought what was wanted to get me ordained. I learned what was taught me, I said what I was told to say, I promised all that was required, and I became a priest. But I soon discovered that when I promised not to be a human being, I had promised more than I could perform.

Conscience, they tell us, is the creature of prejudice, but I know from experience that conscience persists in following the order of Nature in spite of all the laws of Man.

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Mon enfant, n’attendez de moi ni des discours savants ni de profonds raisonnements, Je ne suis pas un grand philosophe, et je me soucie peu de l’être. Mais j’ai quelquefois du bon sens, et j’aime toujours la vérité. Je ne veux pas argumenter avec vous, ni même tenter de vous convaincre; il me suffit de vous exposer ce que je pense dans la simplicité de mon coeur. Consultez le vôtre durant mon discours; c’est tout ce que je vous demande. Si je me trompe, c’est de bonne foi; cela suffit pour que mon erreur ne me soit point imputée à crime: quand vous vous tromperiez de même, il y aurait peu de mal à cela. Si je pense bien, la raison nous est commune, et nous avons le même intérêt à l’écouter; pourquoi ne penseriez-vous pas comme moi?

Je suis né pauvre et paysan, destiné par mon état àcultiver la terre; mais on crut plus beau que j’apprisse àgagner mon pain dans le métier de prêtre, et l’on trouva le moyen de me faire étudier. Assurément ni mes parents ni moi ne s

^(38) Whether my pupil is destined for the sword, the church, the bar, it doesn't matter to me. Before a set of parents chose a vocation for their child, nature called him to human life. Living is the job I want to teach him. When he leaves my hands, he will be, I agree, neither a magistrate, nor a soldier, nor a priest; he will be first of all a man.

^(38) Qu'on destine mon élève à l'épée, à l'église, au barreau, peu m'importe. Avant la vocation des parents, la nature l'appelle à la vie humaine. Vivre est le métier que je lui veux apprendre. En sortant de mes mains, il ne sera, j'en conviens, ni magistrat, ni soldat, ni prêtre; il sera premièrement homme.

We know that direct democracy leads to the tyranny of the majority. So why did Rousseau, who ostensibly cared about individual liberty, support it?

We know that direct democracy leads to the tyranny of the majority. So why did Rousseau, who ostensibly cared about individual liberty, support it?