VII 



[1890] 



THE political speculations set fortli in Rousseau's 

 " Di scours sur 1'origine do 1'inegalite parnii Irs 

 homines," and in the more noted essay, " Du 

 Contrat Social," which were published, the former 

 in 1754 and the latter eight years later, are, for 

 tin- most part, if not wholly, founded upon concep- 

 tions with the origination of which he had nothing 

 to do. The political, like the religious, revolutionary 

 intellectual movement of the eighteenth century 

 in France came from England. Hobbes, primarily, 

 and Locke, secondarily (Rousseau was acquainted 

 with the writings of both), supplied evrry notion 

 of fundamental importance which is to be found 

 in the works which I have mentioned. But the 

 skill of a master of the literary art and the 

 fervour of a prophet combined to embellish and 



