Discourse on the Origin of Inequality

G. D. H. Cole's translation, 1913. 4 parts, about 26,784 words, 2 hours of reading. Source edition.

Passages the guide marks

The first man who enclosed a piece of ground and took it into his head to say, this is mine, and found people simple enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society.
Part Two, opening · Read it in Second Part
Man is naturally good, and it is our institutions alone that have made him bad.
Notes to the Discourse · Read it in Discourse First Part
The human soul, disfigured by a thousand causes, has changed appearance to the point of being almost unrecognisable, like the statue of Glaucus worn away by the sea.
Preface
Savage man breathes only repose and liberty; he wants only to live and to remain idle.
Part Two · Read it in Second Part

About this text

Public domain in the United States; the Project Gutenberg edition is free of restrictions under the Project Gutenberg License. Translated by G. D. H. Cole. It is not the edition the programs assign; the guide names that one, and the buy links there point at it.

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