Rousseau Quotes – Wisdom and Inspiration From the 18th Century Philosopher
Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.
Everything is good as it comes from the hands of the Author of Nature, but everything degenerates once it passes through the hands of man.
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
The strongest person is he who is able to bear his burdens silently.
Those who are the most slow in making a promise are the most faithful in the performance of it.
What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?
The world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.
The person who has lived the most is not the one with the most years, but the one with the richest experiences.
A wise man knows that there is something to learn from everyone.
In order to find yourself, you must first lose yourself in the service of others.
Love is a passion which all human beings experience, and it is the most natural and ancient one.
Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’
The more we know, the more ignorant we become.
To understand everything is to forgive everything.
He who is not afraid to try will succeed in the end.
The greatest happiness is to be found in small, everyday moments.
Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves.
Men are naturally good, but society corrupts them.
Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.
Man was born free, and he is everywhere in chains.
I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery.
The social order is a sacred right which serves as a foundation for all other rights.
Society is the source of all good and evil.
The general will is always right, but the judgment that guides it is not always enlightened.
In a well-ordered society, justice and equality go hand in hand.
The state of nature is a state of perfect liberty, but it is also a state of war.
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the most responsive to change.
The only way to deal with temptation is to yield to it.
To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.
Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.
The only real failure in life is the failure to try.
To be happy, we must not be too concerned with others.
Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose, and commit to what is best for oneself.
It is better to be hated for who you are than loved for who you are not.
The greatest source of happiness is the ability to be content with what one has.
The secret of happiness is freedom, and the secret of freedom is courage.
In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain.
A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.
Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible!’
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.
Imagination is more important than knowledge.
The best way to predict the future is to create it.