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Primary sourceBook1915

The Political Writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Volume II

Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1915

The second volume of a scholarly edition of Rousseau's political writings, including the Social Contract, edited from his original manuscripts.

A scholarly edition of Rousseau's own political writings, including his foundational work on the social contract.

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About this source

What it is

This 1915 Cambridge University Press volume collects political writings by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, edited by Professor C. E. Vaughan from original manuscripts and authentic editions. It includes the final version of the Contrat social and related texts.

Why it matters

This collection preserves Rousseau's political philosophy in a carefully edited scholarly form, allowing readers to study his ideas about society, government, and the social contract directly from sources close to his original manuscripts. It reflects the continuing importance of Rousseau's political thought long after his death.

Look closer

  • Why do you think editors felt it important to work from Rousseau's original manuscripts rather than later printed copies?
  • What does the inclusion of letters and other political passages suggest about the scope of Rousseau's political thinking?
  • How might reading an edited scholarly volume differ from reading Rousseau's original handwritten pages?

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Title page of Du Contrat Social ou Principes du Droit Politique by J. J. Rousseau, citoyen de Genève, printed at Amsterdam by Marc Michel Rey, MDCCLXII. Below the text is an engraved allegorical figure of a woman holding scales and a staff, flanked by trees, with Latin mottos above her. A handwritten inscription appears at top right.Book

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The Social Contract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1762

Sepia-toned mezzotint print of a man in a tall fur hat and fur-collared coat, with his hand raised to his chest, set on a page of a bound book. Caption below reads Jean Jacques Rousseau, Vitam Impendere Vero, after Ramsay, published by David Martin.Painting

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Portrait of Jean Jacques Rousseau

David Martin · 1766

Open book spread showing the title page of Rousseau's Discours sur l'origine et les fondemens de l'inégalité parmi les hommes, Amsterdam, 1755, with red and black printed text and a engraved vignette of a seated woman. On the left page is an engraved plate of men in a landscape with a figure pointing.Book

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Discourse on Inequality

Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1754 (published 1755)

Black and white line engraving of an oval portrait of a man with curled powdered hair, white cravat, and dark coat, seated and smiling slightly, set within an ornate framed border with laurel leaves, ribbons, a book inscribed with a title, and a lamp. Caption at bottom reads 'Publish'd 1st of April 1780 By Fielding & Walker Pater Noster Row'.Painting

Secondary source

Engraving of Rousseau after La Tour's Portrait

E. Ficquet, after Maurice Quentin de La Tour · 1780

Title page of the 1762 first edition of Emile, ou de l'éducation by J. J. Rousseau, citoyen de Genève. Red and black print; A La Haye, chez Jean Néaulme, Libraire; Tome Premier; MDCCLXII.Book

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Emile, or On Education

Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1762

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