Denis Diderot

This chapter presents Jean-Jacques Rousseau's letter to Denis Diderot on March 24, 1757. Rousseau's quarrel with Diderot began when Diderot sent him a copy of his play The Natural Son . This play has a character, Dorval, who resembles Rousseau in some ways. When Dorval wants to retire to the country, a friend says, “Only the wicked man lives alone.” Rousseau thought that people would apply this phrase to him. In his letter to Diderot, he expresses his disappointment, saying that his answer to Diderot had “all the liveliness of a decent man insulted by his friend.” Rousseau then questions Diderot's friendship, calling him an insensitive and harsh man.