Q0338

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

A verified English rendering from the curated archive.

English

Conscience! Conscience! divine instinct, immortal and heavenly voice.
School Social contract theory
Source Émile IV
Theme Conscience

Source context

This English passage is associated with Émile IV, within the tradition of Social contract theory. The wording below is a verified rendering prepared for careful reading rather than a claim of unique translation authority.

A short reading

Read in the register of conscience, the sentence asks the reader to test an assumption rather than to collect a slogan. In Jean-Jacques Rousseau's wider work, similar claims are usually offered as prompts for judgment: what would have to be true for the sentence to hold, and what would follow if it did?

How to cite this quotation

APA: Jean-Jacques Rousseau. (n.d.). Conscience! Conscience! divine instinct, immortal and heavenly voice. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0338

MLA: Jean-Jacques Rousseau. “Conscience! Conscience! divine instinct, immortal and heavenly voice..” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0338.

Chicago: Jean-Jacques Rousseau. “Conscience! Conscience! divine instinct, immortal and heavenly voice..” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0338.