Marquis de Saint-Brisson

This chapter highlights Jean-Jacques Rousseau's letter to Marquis de Saint-Brisson on July 22, 1764. Saint-Brisson had written to Rousseau to say that he had abandoned his military career and quarreled with his mother over his desire to lead a simple country life. Rousseau believes that Saint-Brisson is going too fast with his plans, saying that “when nothing is pressing, it would be necessary to proportion maturity of deliberations to the importance of the resolutions.” He disapproves of Saint-Brisson's decision since Saint-Brisson wanted to isolate himself when that suited him the least. Rousseau asks Saint-Brisson “what good is it to go alarm a mother's tranquil conscience by unnecessarily showing her different from her own.” He tells him that “a son estranged from his mother is always in the wrong.”