The Influence of the Protestant Atmosphere of Geneva on the Character and Writings of Rousseau
1928; Wiley; Issue: 23 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/2547799
ISSN1468-0335
Autores Tópico(s)Political Theory and Influence
ResumoTHE flamboyant boast Citoyen de that Rousseau so proudly inscribed on the title-page of his most famous works has led to the production of a considerable literature, both polemic and scientific, concerned with the amount and quality of Genevan influence both in his character and in his works. He appeared undoubtedly and entirely Genevan to the generation of citizens which followed his own, and indeed Genevans have ever since proclaimed him, often with more enthusiasm than insight, the greatest product of a great city. Fran9ois Roget, in his Pensges genevoises, realised quite clearly the influence of Genevan Calvinism in the shaping of his character, an idea developed and expanded by Rodolphe Rey. Amiel, more subtle or less partisan, saw the peculiarities of Rousseau, that the influence of Geneva was in his case special. These men were however Genevan. More interesting is the similar testimony of Andre Sayous, literary historian, Marc Monnier, who, by writing of Rousseau in his Geneve et les po?tes, clearly recognised his more sentimental side, and Philippe Godet, who sees the Genevan spirit expressed through a style strange to French literature. The casual remarks of Proud'hon no less than the bitter attacks of Louis Veuillot bear witness to this influence. Saint-Beuve saw the importance of Geneva, but realised that there were other forces also at work in the making of Rousseau, while Gustave Lanson and Imile Faguet, authorities of no mean weight, recognised the influence without over-emphasising it. Such testimony was, however, largely casual, occurring in works of wide scope, often concerned not merely with Rousseau, but with a whole literature. In i895, however, Joseph Texte published a work' which endeavoured to show that Rousseau was the meeting-place of Latin and Saxon. If it did not prove its
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