Solitary Stroll's Reverie

Author: Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The Reveries of the Solitary Walker is the last work of French philosopher and literary giant Jean-Jacques Rousseau. These ten meditations by the solitary walker were written for himself, revealing Rousseau's admiration for emotions, praise for the self, and love for nature. At the same time, it shines its own light, illuminating the dirty souls of countless individuals in the secular society. Like the Walden by American philosopher Thoreau, it tells the story of a solitary recluse conversing with nature. Such harmonious scenes, where humans and nature are seamlessly intertwined, are rare texts in the history of Western culture. This walk is, of course, a physical one, where Rousseau savors the beauty of nature and collects plant specimens; it is also a spiritual walk, where he gazes within and engages in intimate conversations with his own soul, unadorned, finding solace; it is even a literary walk, where Rousseau not only created the new literary genre of meditation—prose, but also pioneered the Romantic movement. This little book has also become one of the finest prose works in French literature.