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Jean-Jacques Rousseau

10 free books by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. 7 you can read right here.

Born 1712 in Geneva · Died 1778 in Ermenonville

writer, novelist, playwright, essayist · Republic of Geneva · associated with Enlightenment philosophy, Baroque music

Notable works: Emile, or On Education, The Social Contract, Julie, or the New Heloise, Confessions

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Facts from Wikidata (Q6527), retrieved 2026-09-26.

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Quotes from Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s books

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The Social Contract and Discourses

From Project Gutenberg e-text #46333 (public domain in the USA).

Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.

I. SUBJECT OF THE FIRST BOOKRead in context →

The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying This is mine, and found people simple enough to believe him, was the real founder of civil society.

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