Jean-Jacques Rousseau

The only thing that can save us from ourselves is love.

To be truly free, one must be free from oneself.

I would rather be a man of sorrows than a man of lies.

To live is not to breathe but to act. It is to make use of our organs, our senses, our faculties, of all the parts of ourselves which give us the sentiment of our existence.

The most useful and honorable science is that of man; and the most useful book is that which teaches us to live.

The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said 'This is mine,' and found people naive enough to believe him, that man was the true founder of civil society.

The truly free man wills only what he can, and does what he pleases.

We are born weak, we need strength; we are born entirely unprovided, we need aid; we are born stupid, we need judgment. Everything we do not have at our birth, and which we need when we are grown, is given us by education.

The truth is that men are not naturally enemies, but only become so through the establishment of society.

It is not enough to be happy, one must be content.

The only way to avoid being miserable is to be useful.

Man is naturally good, and it is from institutions alone that men become wicked.

The greatest and most important of all human duties is that of being a good father.

The love of one's country is the most powerful and most delightful of all passions.

The progress of science and industry, far from contributing to our happiness, has only served to corrupt our morals.

The heart of man is a factory of idols.

To be loved is to be useful.

The more I study nature, the more I am amazed at the wisdom of the Creator.

The most useful and important rule of all education is not to gain time but to lose it.

Nature has made me happy and good, and if I am otherwise, it is the fault of society.