Rousseau's philosophy, society's negative influence on men centers on
its transformation of amour de soi, a positive
self-love, into amour-propre, or pride. Amour de soi represents the instinctive human
desire for self-preservation, combined with the
human power of reason. In contrast, amour-propre is artificial and encourages man to
compare himself to others, thus creating unwarranted fear and allowing men to
take pleasure in the pain or weakness of others
The Rousseas adoration society
The German writers Goethe, Schiller, and Herder have stated that Rousseau's writings
inspired them. Herder regarded Rousseau to be his "guide", and Schiller compared Rousseau
to Socrates. Goethe, in 1787, stated:Emile and its sentiments had a universal influence on the
cultivated mind.[125] The elegance of Rousseau's writing is held to have inspired a significant
transformation in French poetry and drama—freeing them from rigid literary norms.
Other writers who were influenced by Rousseau's writings included Leopardi in Italy;
Pushkin and Tolstoyin Russia; Wordsworth, Southey, Coleridge, Byron, Shelly, and Keats
in England; and Hawthorne and Thoreau in America. According to Tolstoy: At fifteen
I carried around my neck, instead of the usual cross, a medallion with Rousseau's
portrait.[12
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