Les confessions

Books

Rousseau was the first man to expose himself candidly to the public gaze. There is a candor of the spirit; there is a candor of the tongue; there is a candor of the times. Rousseau's Confessions has all three! We have chosen to reprint a remarkably fine version in English, published in 1783 and 1790, which reveals the undertones and the overtones of Rousseau's theme. Originally published within a year of the appearance of the French editions, this translation omitted certain passages which would have been deemed offensive -- and, in fact, were. So we got A.S.B. Glover to restore the omitted passages, and thus provide us with the text of an English translation of Rousseau's Confessions more faithful than any of the new translations, both in letter and in spirit. You will be able to look at the faces of the people whom Rousseau met, to study the places where Rousseau lived, to move through the tapestry of Rousseau's times as Rousseau himself tells you what he was doing during those times. - Publisher.