Jean Jacques Rousseau’s life
Rousseau was born in Geneva on June 18, 1712, and was raised
by an aunt and uncle following the death of his mother a few days after his birth. He was
apprenticed at the age of 13 to an engraver, but after three years he ran away and became
secretary and companion to Madame Louise de Warens, a wealthy and charitable woman who had
a profound influence on Rousseau’s life and writings. In 1742 Rousseau went to Paris,
where he earned his living as a music teacher, music copyist, and political secretary. He
became a close friend of the French philosopher Denis Diderot, who commissioned him to
write articles on music for the French Encyclopédie.
Jean Jacques
Rousseau