Confessions

The Confessions is an autobiographical book by Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rousseau provides an account of the experiences that shaped his influential philosophy. For instance, the parts of his own education he liked best are clearly present in his account of ideal education. Rousseau's work is notable as one of the first major autobiographies. The Confessions was one of the first autobiographies in which an individual wrote of his own life mainly in terms of his worldly experiences and personal feelings. Rousseau recognized the unique nature of his work; it opens with the famous words:I have resolved on an enterprise which has no precedent, and which, once complete, will have no imitator. My purpose is to display to my kind a portrait in every way true to nature, and the man I shall portray will be myself. The Confessions is also noted for its detailed account of Rousseau's more humiliating and shameful moments.