"Remember that to guide a grown man you must reverse all that you did to guide the child. Do not hesitate to speak to him of those dangerous mysteries which you have so carefully concealed from him hitherto. Since he must become aware of them, let him not learn them from another, nor from himself, but from you alone; since he must henceforth fight against them, let him know his enemy, that he may not be taken unawares. What makes me most confident in my method is this: when I follow it out as closely as possible, I find no situation in the life of my scholar which does not leave me some pleasing memory of him. Even when he is carried away by his ardent temperament or when he revolts against the hand that guides him, when he struggles and is on the point of escaping from me, I still find his first simplicity in his agitation and his anger; his heart as pure as his body, he has no more knowledge of pretence than of vice; reproach and scorn have not made a coward of him; base fears have never taught him the art of concealment. He has all the indiscretion of innocence; he is absolutely out-spoken; he does not even know the use of deceit. Every impulse of his heart is betrayed either by word or look, and I often know what he is feeling before he is aware of it himself."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
translated by Barbara Foxley
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Emile%2C_or_On_Education
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Emile, or On Education
Emile, or On Education or Émile, Or Treatise on Education is a treatise on the nature of education and on the nature of man written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who considered it to be the best and most important of all his writings. Due to a section of the book entitled “Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar,” Emile was banned in Paris and Geneva and was publicly burned in 1762, the year of its first publication. During the French Revolution, Emile served as the inspiration for what became a n
391 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Emile, or On Education →
Related Quotes
"Parents choose a husband for their daughter and she is only consulted as a matter of form; that is the custom. We sha…"
"If you would guard against these abuses, and secure happy marriages, you must stifle your prejudices, forget human in…"
"I cannot repeat too often that I am not dealing with prodigies. Emile is no prodigy, neither is Sophy. He is a man an…"
""Husband and wife should choose each other. A mutual liking should be the first bond between them. They should follow…"
"Not every one can realise the motive power to be found in a love of what is right, nor the inner strength which resul…"
"The reply was simple. If it were only a question of the partner of her youth, her choice would soon be made; but a ma…"
"I am glad you feel this," said I, "but you need not be surprised; where strangers are scarce, they are welcome; nothi…"
"What is there to kindle the hearts of lovers for whom this perfection is nothing, for whom the loved one is merely th…"
"In a word, she endures patiently the wrong-doing of others, and she is eager to atone for her own. This amiability is…"
"By nature man thinks but seldom. He learns to think as he acquires the other arts, but with even greater difficulty. …"