“The real world has its limits; the imaginary world is infinite. Unable to enlarge the one, let us restrict the other, for it is from the difference between the two alone that are born all the pains which make us truly unhappy.”

Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. He is best known for his political thought, which had a wide influence during the Age of Enlightenment and later in the French Revolution. Rousseau worked across philosophy, literature, and music, but his lasting reputation rests above all on the force of his political ideas. His writing helped shape debate in the eighteenth century, and his influence continued well beyond his own time.