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Hypocrisy and the Philosophical Intentions of Rousseau
Hypocrisy and the Philosophical Intentions of Rousseau
The Jean-Jacques Problem
Matthew D. Mendham
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS
PHILADELPHIA
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Mendham, Matthew David, author.
Title: Hypocrisy and the philosophical intentions of Rousseau : the Jean-Jacques problem / Matthew D. Mendham.
Description: 1st edition. | Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020020802 | ISBN 978-0-8122-5283-5 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 17121778. | Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 17121778Political and social views.
Classification: LCC B2137 .M46 2021 | DDC 194dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020020802
To my parents, Joann and Don Mendham
CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS AND CONVENTIONS
Beaumont | Letter to Beaumont (1763). (Followed by page in CW:9 / OC:4.) |
CC | Correspondance complte de Jean-Jacques Rousseau: dition critique. 53 vols. Ed. R. A. Leigh. Geneva: Institut et muse Voltaire, 19651995. (Followed by volume, page.) |
Conf. | Confessions (ca. 17641770, posthumous). (Followed by Book, page in CW:5 / OC:1. Where indicated, the translation of Angela Scholar has been followed [New York: Oxford University Press, 2000].) |
Corsica | Constitutional Project for Corsica (17641765, posthumous). (Followed by page in CW:11 / OC:3.) |
CW | The Collected Writings of Rousseau. 13 vols. Ed. Roger D. Masters and Christopher Kelly. Hanover: University Press of New England, 19902010. (Followed by volume, page.) |
Dictionnaire | Dictionnaire de Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Ed. Raymond Trousson and Frdric S. Eigeldinger. Paris: Honor Champion, 2006. |
DOI | Discourse on the Origin and Foundations of Inequality Among Men, or second Discourse (17541755). (Followed by Part, page in EPW / OC:3.) |
DPE | Discourse on Political Economy (1755). (Followed by page in LPW / OC:3.) |
DSA | Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, or first Discourse (17501751). (Followed by Part, page in EPW / OC:3.) |
E | Emile, or On Education (1762). (Followed by Book [or SV for the profession of the Savoyard Vicar], page in Emile, trans. Allan Bloom [New York: Basic Books, 1979] / OC:4.) |
EPW | The Discourses and Other Early Political Writings. Ed. and trans. Victor Gourevitch. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. |
Julie | Julie, or the New Heloise (1761). (Followed by Part, letter number, page in CW:6 / OC:2.) |
LdA | Letter to M. dAlembert on the Theatre (1758). (Followed by page in Politics and the Arts, trans. Allan Bloom [Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1960] / CW:10 / OC:5.) |
LF | Letter to Mme Dupin de Francueil, 20 April 1751. (Followed only by [paragraph number], based on CW 5:551-52 / CC 2:142-44.) |
LPW | The Social Contract and Other Later Political Writings. Ed. and trans. Victor Gourevitch. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. |
LR | Last Reply (1752). (Followed by page in EPW / OC:3.) |
Malesherbes | Four Letters to M. le Prsident de Malesherbes: Containing the True Picture of My Character and the True Motives for All My Behavior (1762). (Followed by letter number, page in CW:5 / OC:1.) |
ML | Moral Letters (ca. winter of 17571758, posthumous). (Followed by letter number, page in CW:12 / OC:4.) |
Mountain | Letters Written from the Mountain (1764). (Followed by letter number, page in CW:9 / OC:3.) |
Obs. | Observations (to Stanislas, King of Poland, 1751). (Followed by page in EPW / OC:3.) |
OC | Oeuvres Compltes. 5 vols. Ed. Bernard Gagnebin, Marcel Raymond, Jean Starobinski, et al. Paris: Gallimard (Bibliothque de la Pliade), 19591995. (Followed by volume, page.) |
PN | Preface to Narcissus (1753). (Followed by page in EPW / OC:2.) |
Poland | Considerations on the Government of Poland (17701771, posthumous). (Followed by chapter, page in LPW / OC:3.) |
Rev. | The Reveries of the Solitary Walker (17761778, posthumous). (Followed by walk number, page in Reveries, trans. Charles Butterworth [Indianapolis: Hackett, 1992] / OC:1.) |
RJJ | Rousseau, Judge of Jean-Jacques: Dialogues (17721776, posthumous). (Followed by dialogue number [or HPW for History of the Preceding Writing], page in CW:1 / OC:1.) |
SC | Of the Social Contract, or Principles of Political Right (1762). (Followed by Book, chapter, page in LPW / OC:3.) |
Where a translation has been modified, this has been indicated, except in trivial cases such as capitalization. Where no English edition is cited, translations are my own. For short titles of the many works titled Rousseau or Jean-Jacques Rousseau, I refer to their more distinctive subtitles (e.g., Damrosch, Restless Genius; Gauthier, The Sentiment of Existence).
In keeping with a somewhat common practice deriving from the Dialogues, I will often use Jean-Jacques to refer to the personal character of Rousseau, as distinguished from the author.
INTRODUCTION
I loved him very much, but when I saw his Confessions, I ceased to esteem him. His soul revolted me, and for me with Jean-Jacques, it was the opposite of what usually happens: After his death, I began to underestimate him.
Georges-Louis Le Clerc, comte de Buffon
His sad nature poisoned his life, but posterity will never forget his talents. If he had the too-dangerous art of excusingeven in the eyes of virtuethe faults of a passionate soul, do not forget that he wanted above all to learn to recover from them, and that he constantly made us love this virtue that it is perhaps not given to feeble humanity to follow always.