Some of its key concerns were the operation of reason, the idea of human progress and development, and a hostility to received opinion (dogma) and religious authority. Of course, none of this establishes that Montesquieu was not familiar with the work, given his wide reading and the work's wide circulation. Online: Amazon (Recommended translation) Google Books (Free preview available). Rahe explains that it is not simply the case that the two thinkers were opposedtheir thought is much more entwined: For the arguments that Rousseau deployed against enlightenment and commercial society and those that he presented on behalf of ancient Sparta [] were for the most part borrowed from Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws; see Rahe, Soft Despotism, 77. Therefore, the substantial difference in their perspectives on theatre in France is that whereas Montesquieu identifies theatre as improving French morals and manners, Rousseau simply maintains that it can slow the rate of further debauchery. Scholars now refer to Rousseau's use of Montesquieu's depiction of the ancient republics and the virtue which they inculcated. He begins the first of these two chapters with a bold criticism of Plato, accusing him of promulgating laws that are against nature: If a slave, says Plato, defends himself and kills a free man, he should be treated as a parricide. [4], Towards the middle of this final section Rousseau reasons that the theatre does very little good for the poor, who cannot afford the taxes required to support a theatre. Julie was published in 1761 and soon becomes one of the best-selling works of the century. Rousseau remains resolutely opposed to the theatre in Geneva, however. The novel was clearly inspired by Rousseaus own curious relationshipat once passionate and platonicwith Sophie dHoudetot, a noblewoman who lived near him at Montmorency. And indeed, Rousseau does seem to have recovered his peace of mind in his last years, when he was once again afforded refuge on the estates of great French noblemen, first the Prince de Conti and then the Marquis de Girardin, in whose park at Ermenonville he died. See also Radica, Rousseau, in Dictionnaire lectronique Montesquieu, September 2013 edition, 7. In 1756, Rousseau left Paris. Rousseaus attack on the theater proved to be an important turning point in his career as he decisively broke withother Enlightenment thinkers over questions of religion, gender, and contemporary social culture. Of course, Rousseau is willing to harness female society in such a manner only in the already corrupt society of France. 77 Rousseau proposes an alternative to the tribunal Louis XIV established to settle conflicts regarding honour without recourse to violence, which he argues would be much more effective as it would harness honour to quell the violence arising from perceived dishonour; see Letter, 6774. Whereas it was the Calvinists who opposed the theatre in Geneva, it was the Jansenists who were vociferous critics of the theatre in France, both before and during Montesquieu's time; Montesquieu is almost certainly referring to their opposition here. While Montesquieu's treatment of the theatre has been largely neglected by the scholarship, it appears not to have been neglected by Rousseau. Though the actor is not necessarily malevolent with his talents of deception, Rousseau goes on, the seductive, manipulative nature of acting could potentially be used by actors to do harm in society outside of the theatre. For a more comprehensive discussion of Rousseau's relationship to Muralt, see Kapossy, Iselin contra Rousseau, 3976; Charles Gould, Introduction, in Muralt, Lettres, 997 (8795). 60 Spirit, 19.6, 311. But sometimes human beings forget themselves and their natural feelings. Maloy follows Eric Nelson in reading Montesquieu as favourable to the ancient republics generally and to their land reforms particularly. Emphasis added. In the guise of La Profession de foi du vicaire savoyard (1765; The Profession of Faith of a Savoyard Vicar) Rousseau sets out what may fairly be regarded as his own religious views, since that book confirms what he says on the subject in his private correspondence. Those methods involve a noticeable measure of deceit, and although corporal punishment is forbidden, mental cruelty is not. This awareness of presenting oneself to be viewed and judged by others fosters politeness, manners, and the joie de vivre that Montesquieu speaks so highly of in France.Footnote64. By signing up you agree to our terms and privacy policy. He accepted the Scottish philosopher Hume's offer to take refuge in Britain, only to quarrel with Hume as well and soon return to France. It was the first of Rousseau's writings to be translated into Russian. He first tries to sway Geneva away from the idea of theatre by suggesting that it is not economically feasible, and that the population is too low to support a theatre. In such a case, theatre is useful [] for covering the ugliness of vice with the polish of forms; in a word, for preventing bad morals from degenerating into brigandage.Footnote88 In speaking somewhat sarcastically about the positive role of theatre in such a corrupt society, Rousseau reveals that he would not recommend the proscription of the theatre in Paris and thus he is not such a one as to venture to constrain its women, make laws to correct their mores, and limit their luxury.Footnote89 Here, Rousseau acknowledges that theatre may, in fact, at least prevent what he sees as the debaucheries of Parisian society. Although Rousseau in his Letter refers neither to Montesquieu nor to his works by name, he was certainly well versed in his predecessor's teachings. For example, Phaedra scorns herself for her incestuous love, but is unable to resist it. Letter to M. D'Alembert on Spectacles (French: Lettre a M. d'Alembert sur les spectacles) is a 1758 essay written by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in opposition to an article published in the Encyclopdie by Jean d'Alembert, that proposed the establishment of a theatre in Geneva. [2], In the Letter, Rousseau rejected the traditional notion of male politicians being responsible for moral reform, and thought it was women's responsibility. Montesquieu broaches the possibility that drama itself can teach morality in The Spirit of the Laws in Book 25, one of two devoted to the subject of religion. 33 See, for example, Michael Zuckert, Natural Rights and Modern Constitutionalism, Northwestern University Journal of International Human Rights, 2 (2004), 42-66 (4546, 52). He reasons that even if comedy writers write a play that is morally acceptable, the audience will not find it funny. In October of 1758,Rousseau published theLetter to dAlembertto refuteJean dAlemberts suggestion that Geneva establish a public theater. Summary It is difficult to overstate the influence of Jean-Jacques Rousseau on the works of Mary Wollstonecraft. As Kelly points out, scholars have noted that Rousseau on several occasions in that work paraphrases without attribution the language of Montesquieu's Spirit; see Kelly, Rousseau and the Illustrious Montesquieu, in The Challenge of Rousseau, edited by Grace and Kelly, 21, notes 8 and 9; Leo Strauss, On the Intention of Rousseau, Social Research, 14 (1947), 45587 (45860); Antoine Adam, De quelques sources de Rousseau dans la littrature philosophique (17001750), in Jean-Jacques Rousseau et son oeuvre, problmes et recherches (Paris, 1964), 12533 (127); Michel Launay, Jean-Jacques Rousseau et son temps (Paris, 1969), 93103. In a text directed toward representation, he thus makes semblance, imitation, a category worthy of moral judgement: that is the . 43 Montesquieu, of course, acknowledges that a variety of factors can affect how any given people responds to a theatrical work; see, for example, Spirit, 14.2, 233. Dufour (Paris, 1924), i, 379-380,384.Further quotations from this work will be cited as "R." and will refer to this edition. [2], Rousseau believed that the theatre took people away from the community, and replaced any patriotic, unifying spirit with artificial emotions. Jean-Jacques Rousseau (UK: / r u s o /, US: / r u s o / French: [ ak uso]; 28 June 1712 - 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher (), writer, and composer.His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolution and the development of modern political, economic, and educational thought. Rousseau initially declares at the beginning of the Letter that theatre only serves to intensify rather than change established morals, positing that drama would be good for the good and bad for the vicious.Footnote73 He ultimately revises his position, however, as he embraces Montesquieu's views both of the fundamental importance of mores in a given society and of the fact that different societies require different mores as well as different laws and institutions.Footnote74 This change of orientation occurs when Rousseau seems to adopt verbatim Montesquieu's formulation that mores and manners can be effectively changed not through direct legislation but less obtrusively through the introduction of other mores and manners, or via public opinion: matters of morals and universal justice are not arranged, as are those of private justice and strict right, by edicts and laws.Footnote75 This is nearly identical to Montesquieu's advice to the legislator in 19.14: when one wants to change the mores and manners, one must not change them by the laws [] it would be better to change them by other mores and other manners.Footnote76 Rousseau's discussion of the possible elimination of duels in France through the force of public opinion provides his readers with an example of spectacle appealing to amour-propre in such a way as to mitigate vice.Footnote77 Indeed, Rousseau declares in this context: I am convinced that we will never succeed in working these changes without bringing about the intervention of women, on whom men's way of thinking in large measure depends.Footnote78 Thus, not only does Rousseau confirm Montesquieu's teaching regarding the importance of mores, but he also expressly adopts Montesquieu's very conclusion regarding the importance of female society in effecting their change. The publication of Rousseau's sentimental novel Julie, ou la Nouvelle Heloise in 1761 gained him a huge following. By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. In making this case in Letter to d'Alembert, Rousseau engages Montesquieu's thought by confirming some aspects of his predecessor's reflections while challenging others, frequently adopting Montesquieu's very language in order to counter the trends his predecessor's work might promote. 64 Mosher, Judgmental Gaze of European Women, 30; Schaub, Erotic Liberalism, 14243. Elizabeth Fallaize - 1999 - Sartre . The main action is on a platform [estrade], called the stage [thtre]. Their exchange, collected in volume ten of this acclaimed series, offers a classic debate over the political importance of the arts. It was in England that Rousseau found refuge after he had been banished from the canton of Bern. The Enlightenment was a diverse movement, represented in France by writers such as Voltaire, Diderot and the authors of the Encyclopdie. Having long regarded Voltaire as an additional target of Rousseau's criticism in the Letter, the scholarship has largely ignored the extent to which Rousseau also engages with and responds to Montesquieu in this particular work. But despite such an endorsement of the social order, the novel was revolutionary; its very free expression of emotions and its extreme sensibility deeply moved its large readership and profoundly influenced literary developments. References to the French, when cited, for this and the Persian Letters appear in parentheses and are drawn from Charles-Louis Secondat de Montesquieu, uvres compltes de Montesquieu, edited by Roger Callois, 2 vols (Paris, 19491951). As these two leading figures of the Enlightenment argue about censorship, popular versus high culture, and the proper role . Whereas Montesquieu sees the theatre as a salutary way of teaching morality and sympathy, Rousseau condemns it as a corrupting influence. In the decadence of France, Rousseau claims the most esteemed woman is the one who is most social, most talked about, judgmental and authoritative. A decade later, Rousseau would discern that same power, but would respond by endeavouring to proscribe itat least as far as Geneva is concerned. At each side you can see, in little compartments called boxes, men and women acting out scenes together [des hommes et des femmes qui jouent ensemble des scnes muettes ]. Their exchange, collected in volume ten of this. Letter 28 humorously depicts Rica conflating the actors and the audience of the scene he describes, thus confusing the spectacle on the stage with the spectacle of Parisian social life: Yesterday I saw something rather odd [assez singulire], although in Paris it happens every day. However, Muralt's focus is on the inverted character of each sex, which results in a society that replaces good sense and simplicity (masculine characteristics) with wit and beauty (feminine characteristics); see Muralt, Lettres, 246, 260. From 1742 to 1749, Rousseau lived in Paris, barely earning a living by teaching and by copying music. He notes that the citizens forbearance in the face of such criticism of the founder of their church reveals their enlightened tolerance.Footnote4 In addition, d'Alembert makes use of Montesquieu's authority when treating Geneva's laws in his essay, adducing the fact that M. Here, he began to write his famous autobiography, Confessions, and formally renounced his Genevan citizenship. Careful consideration of Rousseau's Letter in light of Montesquieu's Persian Letters and Spirit of the Laws reveals a much more pervasive influence, however. 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