Volume 1

Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau / Jean Jacques Rousseau.

  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Date:
1931
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau / Jean Jacques Rousseau. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    [i737-1741.]—The following winter Barillot returned from Italy. He brought me some books ; amongst others, the “ Bon- tempi5J and the “ Cartella della Musica,” which gave me a taste for the history of music and the theoretical investigation of this beautiful art. Barillot remained with us some time ; and, as I had attained my majority some months ago, it was agreed that, in the following spring, I should go to Geneva to claim my mother’s fortune, or, at least, the share that came to me, until it should be discovered what had become of my brother. This plan was carried out as had been arranged : I went to Geneva, where I was joined by my father. He had for some time been in the habit of visiting the place without anyone molesting him, although the decree against him was still in force ; but, as he was esteemed for his courage and respected for his honesty, it was pretended that his little affair was forgotten ; and the magis¬ trates, busy with the grand scheme, which soon afterwards burst forth in all its glory, did not desire to irritate the middle classes prematurely, by reminding them of their former partisan¬ ship at an inopportune moment. I was afraid of difficulties being raised in consequence of my change of religion, but found none. The laws of Geneva are in this respect not so severe as those of Berne, where anyone who changes his religion loses, not only his status, but his property as well. My claims were not disputed, but the inheritance itself, for some reason or other which I do not know, was reduced to a very small sum. Although it was almost certain that my brother was dead, there wms no legal proof of this. I had not sufficient title to claim his share, and I willingly left it to help to support my father, who, as long as he lived, enjoyed the use of it. As soon as the legal formalities were concluded and I received my money, I laid out part of it in books, and flew to lay the rest at mamma’s feet. During the journey my heart beat with joy, and, at the moment when I placed this money in her hands, I was a thousand times happier than when it was placed in mine. She received it with the simplicity of all beautiful souls, who, finding no difficulty in such actions themselves, are not aston¬ ished when they see them performed by others. The money was laid out almost entirely upon myself, with the same sim¬ plicity. It would have been employed in exactly the same manner, if it had come from any other source. Meanwhile, my health was not completely re-established ; on the contrary, I was visibly wasting away. I was as pale as a corpse and thin as a skeleton. The beating of my veins was