Chapter 211 Rousseau and the Corsican Constitution
"Jean Jacques Rousseau...?"
Lawrence was stunned for a moment, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. Then he subconsciously looked at the energetic man who was nearly sixty years old in the prison, and at the same time recalled quickly in his mind:
"Rousseau...1770...can't be wrong, this happened to be the time when he just returned to Paris from England."
Rousseau's eyes moved slightly and were fixed on Lawrence's face.
His pair of pitch-black eyes were like the calm Pacific Ocean, calm and vast, containing endless power.
"This gentleman is...?"
Rousseau asked slightly strangely. He could tell that Lawrence was not a member of the Paris High Court, but Judge Jackie was flattering to the young man.
"That's enough, Prisoner Rousseau, don't talk nonsense. This gentleman's name is not something you should know."
Judge Jackie said fiercely, and then stepped forward and kicked the iron door of the cell hard, causing a loud clanking sound that echoed in the corridor.
After saying that, Judge Jackie immediately put on a bright smile as if changing his face, turned to Lawrence and said:
"Your Excellency Bonaparte, let's go. Don't pay attention to him. He is just a poor scholar. He has been talking about freedom, rights and so on in the court before, but he is actually some reactionary words."
However, Lawrence walked forward without even looking at Judge Jackie, stared at the great thinker in the cell, and said slowly:
"Man is born free, but he is always in chains..."
Rousseau also showed a hint of surprise on his face, and subconsciously added:
"'Those who think themselves masters of all others are more slaves than all others.' Yes, sir, the first sentence of the first section of the first chapter of the "Social Contract". In fact, this is exactly what it says.
It’s my work.”
"Hey! Prisoner Rousseau!"
Before Lawrence could respond, Judge Jackie rushed forward first. Although he didn't know what Lawrence was talking about to Rousseau, he still pointed angrily at Rousseau's nose and cursed:
"How dare you mention this forbidden book of yours?! I can't believe you still have the guts to say these reactionary statements that challenge the authority of God and the King in your cell!"
"Don't worry, Judge Jackie."
Lawrence put his left hand on Judge Jackie's shoulder, glanced at him expressionlessly, and said coldly:
"In fact, I was the first to say these reactionary words just now. The words I just said came from the banned book you mentioned."
"I..."
Judge Jackie swallowed with a pale face. Lawrence's hand that gently placed on his shoulder seemed as heavy as a thousand pounds, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on Judge Jackie's forehead.
Lawrence looked at the extremely nervous Judge Jackie and said calmly:
"You don't mean to say that I am also challenging the authority of the king and God, right?"
After hearing this, Judge Jackie wished he could slap himself twice.
Any Parisian who cares about politics knows the close relationship between Lawrence and the royal family. If he dares to say that Lawrence challenges the authority of the royal family, everyone will definitely think that it is a malicious slander.
Regardless of whether it is the royal family or the Honorable Bonaparte in front of me, this is something that a small assistant judge like Judge Jackie cannot afford to offend.
"I, hahaha, of course I'm not talking about you."
Judge Jackie put on a smile and said incoherently:
"Of course a big shot like you is different from ordinary people. You have a strong enough will and will not be corroded by those evil banned books..."
"In this case, it shouldn't be a problem for me to have a chat with Mr. Rousseau, right?" Lawrence asked immediately.
"Of course... of course, please do as you please." Judge Jackie hesitated for a moment, nodded quickly, and then stepped aside very wisely.
Rousseau in the prison could not help but widen his eyes at this moment, watching the arrogant Judge Jackie retreat to the side with his head lowered like a humble domestic servant.
Lawrence turned his head and looked at Rousseau in the cell again. He was able to confirm that the man in front of him was the world-famous Enlightenment thinker in history, Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Although the historical Rousseau died eight years later in 1778, as the author of "The Social Contract", his thoughts influenced the entire French Revolution and the subsequent formulation of the American Constitution.
Every leader during the French Revolution, whether they were Jacobins or Girondins, the Thermidorians or Napoleon who later became emperor, had read Rousseau's "The Social Contract" without exception.
In his youth, Robespierre personally visited Rousseau in his later years and was greatly influenced by him.
That’s why the German poet Heine said:
"Robespierre is just one of Rousseau's hands, a bloody hand that took out a body from the womb of time, but the soul of this body was created by Rousseau."
This is why Russell called "The Social Contract" the bible of the leaders during the French Revolution. Although Russell's words are somewhat derogatory, they also illustrate the profound influence of Rousseau on the French Revolution.
As for Rousseau himself, like many unfortunate great men, he did not receive much attention during his lifetime and was not wealthy in life. It was only after his death that his thoughts were unearthed and carried forward.
Lawrence looked at Rousseau's old clothes and sighed slightly.
In his memory, although Rousseau was born in a middle-class family in Geneva, he came to Paris alone when he was young, and gradually became famous in the Paris academic circle, working closely with Voltaire, Diderot and other encyclopaedist scholars.
They all have good friendships.
By 1762, Rousseau gradually became enemies with Voltaire and the Encyclopedia scholars due to their ideological disagreements. As a result, his pedagogical work "Emile" was boycotted by the academic circle, and eventually attracted the attention of the Bishop of Paris.
Meng's attention.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Bishop Bimont identified Rousseau's works as banned books, and issued a ban on both "Social Contract" and "Emile", making Rousseau unable to
These two works are not published in the Netherlands.
What was even worse for Rousseau was that the Paris High Court also issued an expulsion order against him, expelling him from French soil.
So Rousseau was forced to go into exile, traveling successively to Prussia and German countries, and finally fled to England with the help of the British philosopher Hume.
Hume was extremely benevolent to Rousseau. Not only did he help Rousseau find a place to live, he also recommended Rousseau to King George III of England and won him a king's pension.
However, Rousseau himself did not speak English, and he had no other friends in England. This lonely situation made his mental condition worsen day by day, and later he even suspected that Hume wanted to harm him.
Hume was also very helpless about this. In a letter to a friend, he mentioned Rousseau as: "He is obviously crazy."
In 1770, the Paris High Court finally revoked Rousseau's expulsion order and allowed him to return to Paris, but he was not allowed to publish any writings. This is why Rousseau's "Confessions" was not published until four years after his death.
Rousseau immediately left England with his wife, returned to Paris, a land he had not seen for nearly ten years, and made a living by copying music scores and composing music for others.
"Have you read my works?" Rousseau asked with some surprise as he looked at the young man in front of him.
Since both "The Social Contract" and "Emile" were banned in France, no one was interested in these two books for a long time after their release.
Rousseau did not expect to meet one of his readers in such a place.
"Of course, I can even recite fragments of it. 'In the process of participating in politics, only when everyone equally gives up all natural freedom and transfers it to the entire collective can human beings obtain equal contractual freedom.'"
Lawrence answered with a smile, then glanced at Rousseau's cell, frowned and asked:
"Besides, M. Rousseau, I want to know why they locked you up in a place like this."
Although the environment of this cell is much better than that of other prisons, it is obviously not a place where a great thinker who is nearly sixty years old should stay.
When Judge Jackie heard this, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. At this moment, he finally saw that this Honorable Bonaparte was actually a loyal reader of the prisoner.
Judge Jackie, aware of this, quickly began to think about how to use this to please His Excellency Bonaparte.
Rousseau smiled bitterly and shook his head. He did not express his grievances loudly, but said slowly:
"The High Court issued an injunction against me, prohibiting me from publishing any more works, but their definition of work was too broad. I only published a piece of music, and they accused me of violating the injunction and brought me here.
"
Lawrence frowned, but he was not surprised. After all, for a conservative and decadent interest group like the High Court, the more advanced it is, the more reactionary it is.
At that time, Voltaire was also persecuted by the Paris High Court and spent a period of time in a dungeon.
"Hehehe... Your Excellency Bonaparte, Mr. Rousseau."
Judge Jackie on the side also found the right opportunity to join in. He also changed his address to Rousseau from prisoner to sir, and said with a smile:
"I just reviewed Mr. Rousseau's case again, and it seems that the judgment was indeed biased. Mr. Rousseau, if you request a review, I will be happy to re-examine this case..."
Rousseau was stunned for a moment, and then he breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Lawrence with understanding and said gratefully:
"Thank you so much, Your Excellency. I really don't know how to repay you."
For an old man like Rousseau who was used to seeing the world, he knew instantly why Judge Jackie's attitude changed so quickly.
After knowing that he would be released soon, Rousseau finally had a smile on his face and asked Lawrence excitedly:
"By the way, I don't know your name yet. Are you...?"
Judge Jackie quickly spoke first and said kindly to Rousseau:
"Mr. Rousseau, you have just returned to Paris. You don't even know Monsignor Bonaparte. He is the Governor of the Republic of Corsica, and concurrently serves as the first equerry to the Crown Prince of France and the royal tax collector."
"Governor of Corsica?"
Rousseau was suddenly startled when he heard this name and asked repeatedly:
"Isn't the Governor of Corsica Mr. Paoli? I exchanged letters with him a few months ago."
"Correspondence...?"
Lawrence was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered that Rousseau and Corsica were really related.
As early as 1755, when Paoli led the Corsican people to resist the rule of Genoa and declared Corsica's independence, Rousseau was excited about Corsica's independence and wrote in "The Social Contract":
“There is still one country in Europe open to its legislators. This is Corsica. The bravery and determination shown by these brave people to regain and defend their freedom are well worthy of those wise men who are willing to teach them how to defend it.
With help. I have a premonition that one day this island will shock Europe."
In this passage, the "wise men who are willing to teach them how to defend freedom" that Rousseau refers to are actually himself, which can be regarded as a kind of self-recommendation.
Fortunately, on August 31, 1764, Matteo Butavco, the then Corsican ambassador to France, read this passage, so he wrote a letter to Rousseau, asking Rousseau to serve as Corsi's ambassador.
Chia drafted a constitution and promised to provide Rousseau with all necessary information.
Rousseau received this letter in October of the same year, immediately accepted the task excitedly, and wrote back to the Corsican ambassador:
"For the rest of my life I had no other interests except myself and Corsica, and everything else had been banished from my mind."
In the second year, Rousseau published the "Opinions on the Constitution of Corsica", which generally elaborated on his conception of the Corsican Constitution. This was also the first time he participated in the Constitution before providing constitutional opinions to the Polish government.
to the formulation of the constitution.
Unfortunately, in history, France annexed Corsica in 1768, and Rousseau's constitutional work came to an end. He could only depressingly condemn the French and throw all his ideas into the garbage heap.
Of course, many historians believe that Pauli probably did not intend to actually use the constitution formulated by Rousseau. He might just want to use Rousseau's reputation in sociology to enhance the legitimacy of the Corsican government.
But in this timeline, since Corsica has not yet been annexed, it means that Rousseau's constitution-making work is still continuing, so it is not surprising that he had an exchange of letters with Pauly a few months ago.
After clarifying this relationship, Lawrence couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly and suddenly had an idea.
Since Rousseau is still working on the constitution of Corsica, and he will soon return to Corsica to reorganize the Constituent Assembly to determine Corsica's constitutional monarchy, it is entirely possible to invite Rousseau to work in Corsica.
"You can give him the status of a member of the Constituent Assembly... No, it is most appropriate to let him serve as the speaker. After all, the speaker's status is high enough and he does not have much real power."
Lawrence looked at Rousseau calmly and secretly planned in his heart:
"Perhaps it would be good to have him serve as Minister of Education... No, that kind of political symbolism is not strong enough. As expected, the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly is the most suitable."
Lawrence knew that even in this world, Rousseau's thoughts would definitely influence thousands of revolutionaries. It was just a matter of time.
And if Rousseau can be made a member of the Corsican government, especially at the top of the government, then Lawrence can fully claim that the Corsican government is the orthodox successor to Rousseau's ideas in the future.
"In this way, there may be unexpected effects in the great revolution in the future."
Lawrence narrowed his eyes and looked at Mr. Rousseau, who was still confused in front of him, and thought silently.