The Confessions And Correspondence, Including The Letters To Malesherbes (collected Writings Of Rousseau)
by Jean-Jacques Rousseau /
1995 / English / PDF
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When Rousseau first read his Confessions to a 1770 gathering in
Paris, reactions varied from admiration of his candor to doubts
about his sanity to outrage. Indeed, Rousseau's intent and approach
were revolutionary. As one of the first attempts at autobiography,
the Confessions' novelty lay not in just its retelling the facts of
Rousseau's life, but in its revelation of his innermost feelings
and its frank description of the strengths and failings of his
character.
When Rousseau first read his Confessions to a 1770 gathering in
Paris, reactions varied from admiration of his candor to doubts
about his sanity to outrage. Indeed, Rousseau's intent and approach
were revolutionary. As one of the first attempts at autobiography,
the Confessions' novelty lay not in just its retelling the facts of
Rousseau's life, but in its revelation of his innermost feelings
and its frank description of the strengths and failings of his
character.
Based on his doctrine of natural goodness, Rousseau intended the
Confessions as a testing ground to explore his belief that, as
Christopher Kelly writes, "people are to be measured by the depth
and nature of their feelings." Re-created here in a meticulously
documented new translation based on the definitive Pleiade edition,
the work represents Rousseau's attempt to forge connections among
his beliefs, his feelings, and his life. More than a
"behind-the-scenes look at the private life of a public man," Kelly
writes, "the Confessions is at the center of Rousseau's
philosophical enterprise."
Based on his doctrine of natural goodness, Rousseau intended the
Confessions as a testing ground to explore his belief that, as
Christopher Kelly writes, "people are to be measured by the depth
and nature of their feelings." Re-created here in a meticulously
documented new translation based on the definitive Pleiade edition,
the work represents Rousseau's attempt to forge connections among
his beliefs, his feelings, and his life. More than a
"behind-the-scenes look at the private life of a public man," Kelly
writes, "the Confessions is at the center of Rousseau's
philosophical enterprise."
