Rousseau's "Contrat Social" Publicly burned at Geneva, 1763 (litho)

Rousseau's "Contrat Social" Publicly burned at Geneva, 1763. The great political philosopher, Jean Jacques Rousseau, was born in Geneva in 1712. His reforming doctrines were readily accepted by the citizens of Geneva and led to bitter civil strife. In 1763, acting on the advice of Voltaire and the University of Paris, the magistrates ordered his famous treatise, the "Contrat Social," to be publicly burned by the common hangman. Illustration for Hutchinson's History of the Nations (Hutchinson, c.1920). Note: Image has been digitally enhanced to facilitate repro.