Rousseau's Dog Quotes

“With his rigorous reasoning, Hume had punctured the Enlightenment's inflated claims on behalf of reason. So there was irony, too, in his overwrought response to the assault by Rousseau, the man of sensibility. When, in the summer of 1766, Hume jettisoned a lifetime of moderation, he seemed fixed on demonstrating that reason was indeed the slave of the passions.”
― David Edmonds, Rousseau's Dog: Two Great Thinkers at War in the Age of Enlightenment – An Intellectual History of Treachery and Shattered Friendship

“Rousseau's constant influence on later generations is indubitable (though not always positive). He can be seen as father of the Romantic movement (and even a great-grandfather of the Green movement). The Romantics were inspired by his confirmation of the worth of each and every one of us, however ordinary, by his emphasis on equality, on knowledge of the inner self, and on a spiritual connection with nature, as well as by his imagination and the depth of his feelings.”
― David Edmonds, Rousseau's Dog: Two Great Thinkers at War in the Age of Enlightenment – An Intellectual History of Treachery and Shattered Friendship

“His face was broad and fat, his mouth wide, and without any other expression than that of imbecility. His eyes vacant and spiritless, and the corpulence of his whole person was far better fitted to communicate the idea of a turtle-eating alderman than of a refined philosopher. His speech in English was rendered ridiculous by the broadest Scottish accent, and his French was, if possible, still more laughable.”
― David Edmonds, Rousseau's Dog: Two Great Thinkers At War in the Age of Enlightenment – An Intellectual History of Treachery and Shattered Friendship