“ Youth is not infancy. There is for nations, as for men, a period of youth, or, shall we say, maturity, before which they should not be made subject to laws; but the maturity of a people is not always easily recognisable, and, if it is anticipated, the work is spoilt. One people is amenable to discipline from the beginning; another, not after ten centuries. ”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract (1762). copy citation
| Author | Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
|---|---|
| Source | The Social Contract |
| Topic | maturity youth |
| Date | 1762 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | Of the Social Contract, or Principles of Political Law, Book II |
| Note | Translated by George Douglas Howard Cole |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Social_Contract/Book_II |
Context
“Then disturbances may destroy it, but revolutions cannot mend it: it needs a master, and not a liberator. Free peoples, be mindful of this maxim: "Liberty may be gained, but can never be recovered."
Youth is not infancy. There is for nations, as for men, a period of youth, or, shall we say, maturity, before which they should not be made subject to laws; but the maturity of a people is not always easily recognisable, and, if it is anticipated, the work is spoilt. One people is amenable to discipline from the beginning; another, not after ten centuries. Russia will never be really civilised, because it was civilised too soon. Peter had a genius for imitation; but he lacked true genius, which is creative and makes all from nothing. He did some good things, but most of what he did was out of place.”
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