Rousseau on the run

Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, Genevan writer and philosopher (1712-1778). Autograph letter signed ("Renou").

€ 9.500,00

Returning to the continent in spite of his banishment for the publication of Émile, Rousseau writes this letter under the pseudonym "Renou". Following a tempestuous sojourn in Britain, the philosopher undertook a clandestine stay in France, moving frequently. In 1768, he came to reside in Bourgoin, where in 1769 he would be rejoined by his life-long partner, Thérèse Levasseur. Showing the shy, personal side of the philosopher's character, he presents his apologies for not paying his respects to an acquaintance in person.

Addressed in the third person to the local governor, the Marquis de Beffroi, Rousseau writes: "Renou, très sensible à l’honneur que lui ont fait Monsieur et Madame la Marquise de Beffroy, alloit les remercier de leur invitation et leur faire ses excuses de n’en pouvoir profiter; mais les trouvant à table il a compris qu’il S’étoit trompé d’heure, et les supplie d’agréer ses excuses de ce quiproquo, en attendant qu’il aille remplir ce devoir lui-même".

The Marquis de Beffroi (b. 1730) was the recipient of a number of letters from Rousseau during his sojourn in Bourgoin. His title as local Military Governor appears to have been largely honorary, as the town had no garrison. He fell into poverty after the Revolution, and the last trace of him in the documentary record is in 1794.

Suffering from insecurity and paranoia due to his banishment and quarrels with friends and colleagues, Rousseau did not arrive in Bourgoin in the best of spirits. Due to his criticism of religion in Émile (1762), both Catholic France and Protestant Geneva ordered the work burnt and issued an order for his arrest. At the invitation of David Hume, he fled to Britain in 1766, but the two later fell out, prompting his return to the continent the following year.

This letter was formerly in the private collection of Prof. Laurent Versini of the Nancy and the Sorbonne, and is included in the Correspondence complète de Rousseau.

This letter offers a glimpse into a highly dramatic time in the great philosopher's life.