Description
Franklin Library leather edition of Jean Jacques Rousseau's "Political Writings," a limited edition, Translated by G. D. H. Cole, one of the 100 GREATEST BOOKS OF ALL TIME series, published in 1982. Bound in blue/grey leather, the book has grey French moire silk end leaves, acid-free paper, Symth-sewn binding, a satin book marker, hubbed spine, gold gilding on three edges---in near FINE condition. Jean Jacques Rousseau, who lived from 1712-1778, was born in Switzerland, the son of a watch maker and grandson of a Calvinist minister. At twelve, Rousseau was apprenticed to an engraver with whom he spent four unhappy years. He was beaten and his only pleasures were reading and taking long walks in the countryside. He abandoned his master before his sixteenth birthday. Without money or possessions, he started walking until he reached a village where a kindly priest took him in, fed him, and sent him to his first important woman in his life, the Baronne de Warens. She was 29 and separated from her husband. Having converted Rousseau to Catholicism, she sent him to a hospice in Turin. Years later he called this conversion "at bottom the act of a bandit." Eventually he returned to Madame de Warens and they became lovers and he managed her business affairs. At age thirty, Rousseau was unknown, a self-educated rustic with few social graces. He arrived in Paris in 1742 and took a position with the French Ambassador to Venice in 1743. Back in Paris in 1745, he began a relationship with THERESE LEVASEUR that would last the rest of his life. They became parents to five children who were placed in foundling homes. This volume includes: "A Discourse on the Origin of Inequality," "A Discourse on Political Economy, and "The Social Contract." Rousseau criticized THOMAS HOBBES and JOHN LOCKE for their failure to probe the origins of man. Rousseau argued that man was "self-sufficient; he knew neither virtue or vice, but primarily the art of self-preservation. In the "Social Contract," he wrote: "Man is born free but everywhere he is in chains. One thinks himself the master of others and still remains a greater slave than they." 284 pages. I offer combined shipping.
Jean-Michel Provencher
This stunning Franklin Library edition of Rousseau's *Political Writings* is a true collector's gem. The luxurious blue-grey leather, Smyth-sewn binding, and French moiré silk end leaves elevate this already great work into a bookshelf masterpiece. The gold-gilded edges, acid-free paper, and satin bookmark make reading a joy. As part of the *100 Greatest Books of All Time* series, it feels special—ideal for philosophy lovers or anyone who appreciates fine bookbinding. Rousseau’s influential ideas shine even brighter in this exquisite presentation. Near-flawless condition—highly recommended for both content and craftsmanship!