Literature Network » Jean Jacques Rousseau

The debate about luxury in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century French political thought.(Critical essay)

Content courtesy of

From: Journal of the History of Ideas
Date: 20070101
Author:Jennings, Jeremy

INTRODUCTION: MELON VERSUS ROUSSEAU

In his "Last Reply" (1) to the criticisms directed at his Discourse on the Moral Effects of the Arts and the Sciences Jean-Jacques Rousseau made the following comment: "It is true that up to now, luxury, although often prevalent, had at least at all times been viewed as a fatal source of infinitely many evils. It was left for M. Melon to be the first to publish the poisonous doctrine whose novelty brought him more followers than did the soundness of his reasoning. I am not afraid to be alone in my century to fight these odious maxims which ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Jean Jacques Rousseau

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.