Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2009
Do the most celebrated works of Rousseau—more particularly his Discourse on Inequality, émile, and Control Social—present on the whole a coherent answer to the problems of Education and Society? My impression is that Rousseau has here been very much calumniated, owing to the incredible haste and superficiality with which his writings have generally been studied. Even sympathetic inquirers, like M. Schinz in his thorough and attractive work La Pensée de J. J. Rousseau, seem to be too easily discouraged in the quest for unity.
Page 196 Note 1 “La race ètoit dejà vieille; et I'homme restoit toujours enfant.”
Page 199 Note 1 However, the “civil religion” which he outlines in contrast to Christianity (C.S., IV., 8), has, to judge from his dogmas, more resemblances to it (i.e. ideal Christianity), than one would expect. Rousseau seems simply to forget the point he is urging, viz. that some of the old polytheisms are much stronger civil religions than Christianity is.
Page 200 Note 1 I must repeat that I am compelled to leave aside the question why these are, after all, so similar to the dogmas of natural religion.