The sophism that ruined me is the one made by the majority of men, who complain about lacking strength when it is already too late to make use of it.… - Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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Engraved portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, facing right

The sophism that ruined me is the one made by the majority of men,
who complain about lacking strength when it is already too late to make use of it.
[...]
Virtue costs us only through our own fault, and if we always wanted to be wise, we would rarely need to be virtuous. But inclinations that would be
easy to overcome sweep us away without resistance:
we give way to slight temptations whose danger we scorn

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About Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (June 28, 1712 – July 2, 1778) was a major French-speaking Genevan philosopher of Enlightenment whose political ideas influenced the French Revolution, the development of socialist theory, and the growth of nationalism.

Biography information from Wikiquote · Portrait adapted from Wikimedia Commons, Maurice Quentin de La Tour (Public domain / CC0)

Also Known As

Alternative Names: Citizen of Geneva Jean Jacques Rousseau J. J. Rousseau Rousseau J.J. Rousseau JJ Rousseau

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Additional quotes by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Hallando en cada enfermedad síntomas de la mía, creía tenerlas todas y contraje una más cruel de que me conceptuaba libre: el anhelo de curar; y es una enfermedad difícil de evitar cuando se leen libros de medicina.

إن براءتي وحدها تساندني في المصائب , وكم ذا تشتد أيضاً تعاستي , إذا أنتزعت مني هذا المعين القوي الأوحد لأستبدل به سوء الخلق

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