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The Social Contract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1762

Rousseau's 1762 political treatise arguing for popular sovereignty and the 'general will', containing the famous line 'Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains.'

Rousseau's own central political treatise, laying out his theory of popular sovereignty and the general will.

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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.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, title page of Du Contrat Social, Amsterdam, 1762.

About this source

What it is

This is the title page of Du Contrat Social, Jean-Jacques Rousseau's 1762 book on political philosophy, printed in Amsterdam. The book asks how political authority can be legitimate while respecting individual freedom.

Why it matters

Rousseau argues that only the 'general will' of the people has the right to make laws, rejecting the idea that monarchs rule by divine right. The book later inspired political reformers and revolutionaries, especially in France, making it one of the most influential works of political thought in history.

Look closer

  • Why might a printer in Amsterdam, rather than Paris, have published this book?
  • What does the opening line about man being 'born free' yet 'in chains' suggest about Rousseau's view of society?
  • How might a king or government official have reacted to reading this book?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jean-Jacques Rousseau on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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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

Primary source

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

Primary source

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

Primary source

Emile, or On Education

Jean-Jacques Rousseau · 1762

Engraved portrait print of a man with tousled hair and a fur-collared coat, seated and smiling slightly, framed by a stone-block border. A plinth below bears the Latin inscription 'VITAM IMPENDERE VERO'. Signed lower left 'De la Tour Pinx' and lower right 'R. Vinkeles Sc. 1764'.Painting

Primary source

Portrait of the French Writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau

R. Vinkeles, after Maurice Quentin de La Tour · 1764

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