Quotes from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's books, and about them
The Social Contract on The Republic: “This public person, so formed by the union of all other persons, formerly took the name of _city_,[1] and now takes that of _Republic_ or _body politic_; it is called by its members _State_ when passive, _Sovereign_ when active, and _Power_ when compared with others like itself.”
The Social Contract on The Spirit of the Laws: “The author of _The Spirit of the Laws_ has shown with many examples by what art the legislator directs the constitution towards each of these objects.”
The Social Contract on De Jure Belli ac Pacis: “Every one can see, in Chapters III and IV of the First Book of Grotius, how the learned man and his translator, Barbeyrac, entangle and tie themselves up in their own sophistries”
Emile on De Officiis: “Conscience is the most enlightened philosopher; to be an honest man we need not read Cicero's De Officiis, and the most virtuous woman in the world is probably she who knows least about virtue.”
Emile on Robinson Crusoe: “What is this wonderful book? Is it Aristotle? Pliny? Buffon? No; it is Robinson Crusoe.”
Emile on Telemachus: “Her mother took the book and opened it; it was The Adventures of Telemachus.”
Emile on The Odyssey: “But Emile knew the Odyssey and he had not read Telemachus, so he knew nothing of Eucharis.”
Emile on The Spirit of the Laws: “The necessary relations between character and government have been so clearly pointed out in the book of L'Esprit des Lois, that one cannot do better than have recourse to that work for the study of those relations.”
Emile on Symposium (The Banquet): “reading the fourth book of the Aeneid, or Tibollus, or the Banquet of Plato: what a difference between them!”
Emile on Cléopâtre: “Have you ever read Cleopatra or Cassandra or any books of the kind? The author selects some well-known event, he then adapts it to his purpose”