“ When everything smiles around me, I am least amused; my heart cannot confine itself to realities, cannot embellish, but must create. ”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Confessions (1782). copy citation
| Author | Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
|---|---|
| Source | Confessions |
| Topic | reality heart |
| Date | 1782 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by Samuel William Orson |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Confessions_(Rousseau) |
Context
“for I cannot give that name to those excursions I have frequently taken about my own neighborhood, while I lived at Motiers.
It is very singular that my imagination never rises so high as when my situation is least agreeable or cheerful. When everything smiles around me, I am least amused; my heart cannot confine itself to realities, cannot embellish, but must create. Real objects strike me as they really are, my imagination can only decorate ideal ones. If I would paint the spring, it must be in winter; if describe a beautiful landscape, it must be while surrounded with walls;”
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