From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"Jean Jacques Rousseau?"

Lawrence was stunned for a moment, and a look of surprise appeared on his face. Then he subconsciously looked at the energetic man who was nearly sixty years old in the prison, and at the same time recalled quickly in his mind:

"Rousseau, 1770, is unmistakable. This happened to be the time when he had just returned to Paris from England."

Rousseau's eyes moved slightly and were fixed on Lawrence's face.

His pair of pitch-black eyes were like the calm Pacific Ocean, calm and vast, containing endless power.

"Who is this gentleman?"

Rousseau asked slightly strangely. He could tell that Lawrence was not a member of the Paris High Court, but Judge Jackie was flattering to the young man.

"That's enough, prisoner Rousseau, don't talk nonsense. This gentleman's name is not yours to know."

Judge Jackie said fiercely, and then stepped forward and kicked the iron door of the cell hard, causing a loud clanking sound that echoed in the corridor.

After saying that, Judge Jackie immediately put on a bright smile as if changing his face, turned to Lawrence and said:

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, let's go. Don't pay attention to him. He is just a poor scholar. He has been talking about freedom, rights and so on in the court before, but he is actually reactionary."

However, Lawrence walked forward without even looking at Judge Jackie, stared at the great thinker in the cell, and said slowly:

"Man is born free, but he is always in chains."

Rousseau also showed a hint of surprise on his face, and subconsciously added:

"'Those who think themselves masters of all others are slaves more than anything else.' Yes, sir, the first sentence of the first section of the first chapter of the Social Contract. In fact, that is exactly what it is. It’s my work.”

"Hey! Prisoner Rousseau!"

Before Lawrence could respond, Judge Jackie rushed forward first. Although he didn't know what Lawrence was talking about to Rousseau, he still pointed angrily at Rousseau's nose and cursed:

"How dare you mention this forbidden book of yours?! I can't believe you still have the guts to say these reactionary statements that challenge the authority of God and the King in the cell!"

"Don't worry, Judge Jackie."

Lawrence put his left hand on Judge Jackie's shoulder, glanced at him expressionlessly, and said coldly:

"In fact, I was the first to say these reactionary words. The words I just said came from the banned book you mentioned."

"I"

Judge Jackie swallowed with a pale face. Lawrence's hand that gently placed on his shoulder seemed as heavy as a thousand pounds at the moment, causing a layer of cold sweat to break out on Judge Jackie's forehead.

Lawrence looked at the extremely nervous Judge Jackie and said calmly:

"You don't mean to say that I am also challenging the authority of the king and God, right?"

After hearing this, Judge Jackie wished he could slap himself twice.

Any Parisian who cares about politics knows the close relationship between Lawrence and the royal family. If he dares to say that Lawrence challenges the authority of the royal family, everyone will definitely think that it is a malicious slander.

Regardless of whether it is the royal family or the Honorable Bonaparte in front of me, this is something that a small assistant judge like Judge Jackie cannot afford to offend.

"I, hahaha, of course I'm not talking about you."

Judge Jackie put on a smile and said incoherently:

"A big shot like you is of course different from ordinary people. You have a strong enough will and will not be corroded by those evil banned books."

"In this case, it shouldn't be a problem for me to chat with Mr. Rousseau, right?" Lawrence asked immediately.

"Of course, of course, please do as you please." Judge Jackie hesitated for a moment, nodded quickly, and then stepped aside very wisely.

Rousseau in the prison could not help but widen his eyes at this moment, watching the arrogant Judge Jackie retreat to the side with his head lowered like a humble domestic servant.

Lawrence turned his head and looked at Rousseau in the cell again. He was able to confirm that the man in front of him was the world-famous Enlightenment thinker in history, Jean Jacques Rousseau.

Although the historical Rousseau died eight years later in 1778, as the author of "The Social Contract", his thoughts influenced the entire French Revolution and the subsequent formulation of the American Constitution.

Any leader during the French Revolution, whether they were Jacobins or Girondins, the Thermidorians or Napoleon who later became emperor, had read Rousseau's "Social Contract" without exception.

In his youth, Robespierre personally visited Rousseau in his twilight years and was greatly influenced by him.

That’s why the German poet Heine said:

"Robespierre was but one of Rousseau's hands, a bloody hand that took out a body from the womb of time, but the soul of this body was created by Rousseau."

This is why Russell called "The Social Contract" the bible of the leaders during the French Revolution. Although Russell's words are somewhat derogatory, they also illustrate the profound influence of Rousseau on the French Revolution.

As for Rousseau himself, like many unfortunate great men, he did not receive much attention during his lifetime and was not wealthy in life. His thoughts were excavated and carried forward after his death.

Lawrence looked at Rousseau's old clothes and sighed slightly.

In his memory, although Rousseau was born in a middle-class family in Geneva, he came to Paris alone when he was young and gradually became famous in the academic circle of Paris, working closely with Encyclopedia scholars such as Voltaire and Diderot. They all have good friendships.

By 1762, Rousseau gradually became enemies with Voltaire and the Encyclopedia scholars due to ideological disagreements. As a result, his educational work "Emile" was boycotted by the academic circle, and eventually attracted the attention of Bishop Bimont of Paris. of attention.

Bishop Bimont determined that Rousseau's works were banned books and issued a ban on both "The Social Contract" and "Emile", forcing Rousseau to publish these two works in the Netherlands.

To make matters worse for Rousseau, the Paris High Court subsequently issued an expulsion order against him, expelling him from French soil.

So Rousseau was forced to go into exile, and traveled successively to Prussia and German countries, and finally fled to England with the help of the British philosopher Hume.

Hume was extremely benevolent to Rousseau. Not only did he help Rousseau find a place to live, he also recommended Rousseau to King George III of England and won him a king's pension.

However, Rousseau himself did not speak English, and he had no other friends in England. Such a lonely situation made his mental condition worsen day by day, and later he even suspected that Hume wanted to harm him.

Hume was also very helpless about this. In a letter to a friend, he mentioned Rousseau as: "He is obviously crazy."

In 1770, the Paris High Court finally revoked Rousseau's expulsion order and allowed him to return to Paris, but he was not allowed to publish any works. This is why Rousseau's Confessions were not published until four years after his death.

Rousseau immediately left England with his wife, returned to Paris, a land he had not seen for nearly ten years, and made a living by copying music scores and composing music for others.

"Have you read my works?" Rousseau asked with some surprise as he looked at the young man in front of him.

Since both The Social Contract and Emile were banned in France, both books remained unread for a long time after their release.

Rousseau did not expect to meet one of his readers in such a place.

"Of course, I can even recite fragments of it. 'In the process of participating in politics, only when everyone equally gives up all natural freedom and transfers it to the entire collective can human beings obtain equal contractual freedom.'"

Lawrence answered with a smile, then glanced at Rousseau's cell, frowned and asked:

"Besides, M. Rousseau, I would like to know why they keep you in a place like this."

Although the environment of this cell is much better than that of other prisons, it is obviously not a place where a great thinker who is nearly sixty years old should stay.

Judge Jackie on the side suddenly broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this. At this time, he finally saw that this Honorable Bonaparte turned out to be a loyal reader of the prisoner.

Judge Jackie, who noticed this, quickly thought about how to use this to please His Excellency Bonaparte.

Rousseau smiled bitterly and shook his head. He did not express his grievances loudly, but said slowly:

“The High Court issued an injunction against me and prohibited me from publishing any more works, but their definition of work was too broad. I only published one piece of music and they accused me of breaching the injunction and brought me here. "

Lawrence frowned, but he was not surprised. After all, for a conservative and decadent interest group like the High Court, the more advanced it is, the more reactionary it is.

At that time, Voltaire was also persecuted by the Paris High Court and spent a period of time in a dungeon.

"Hehehe, Monsieur Bonaparte, Mr. Rousseau."

Judge Jackie on the side also found the right opportunity to join in. He also changed his address to Rousseau from prisoner to sir, and said with a smile:

"I just reviewed Mr. Rousseau's case again, and it seems that the judgment was indeed biased. Mr. Rousseau, if you request a review, I will be happy to re-hear this case."

Rousseau was stunned for a moment, and then he breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at Lawrence with understanding and said gratefully:

"Thank you so much, Your Excellency. I really don't know how to repay you."

For an old man like Rousseau, who was accustomed to seeing the world, he knew instantly why Judge Jackie's attitude changed so quickly.

After knowing that he would be released soon, Rousseau finally had a smile on his face and asked Lawrence excitedly:

"By the way, I don't know your name yet. Who are you...?"

Judge Jackie quickly spoke first and said kindly to Rousseau:

"Mr. Rousseau, you have just returned to Paris. You don't even know Monsignor Bonaparte. He is the Governor of the Republic of Corsica, and concurrently serves as the first attendant to the Crown Prince of France and the royal tax collector."

"Governor of Corsica?"

Rousseau was suddenly startled when he heard this name and asked repeatedly:

"Isn't the Governor of Corsica Mr. Paoli? I exchanged letters with him a few months ago."

"Exchange of letters.?"

Lawrence was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered that Rousseau and Corsica were really related.

As early as 1755, when Paoli led the Corsican people to resist the rule of Genoa and declared Corsica's independence, Rousseau was excited about Corsica's independence and wrote in "The Social Contract":

“There is still one country in Europe open to its legislators. This is Corsica. The bravery and determination shown by these brave people to regain and defend their freedom are well worthy of those wise men who are willing to teach them how to defend it. Help. I have a feeling this island will shock Europe one day.”

In this passage, the "wise men who are willing to teach them how to defend freedom" that Rousseau refers to are actually himself, which can be regarded as a kind of self-recommendation.

Fortunately, on August 31, 1764, Matteo Butavco, the then Corsican ambassador to France, read this passage, so he wrote a letter to Rousseau, asking Rousseau to serve as Corsi's ambassador. Chia drafted a constitution and promised to provide Rousseau with all necessary information.

Rousseau received this letter in October of the same year, immediately accepted the task excitedly, and wrote back to the Corsican ambassador:

"For the rest of my life I had no other interests but myself and Corsica, and everything else had been banished from my mind."

In the second year, Rousseau published the "Opinions on the Constitution of Corsica", which generally elaborated on his conception of the Corsican Constitution. This was also the first time he participated in the Constitution before providing constitutional opinions to the Polish government. to the constitution-making.

Unfortunately, in history, France annexed Corsica in 1768, and Rousseau's constitutional work came to an end. He could only depressingly condemn the French and throw all his ideas into the garbage heap.

Of course, many historians believe that Pauli probably did not intend to actually use the constitution formulated by Rousseau. He might just want to use Rousseau's reputation in sociology to enhance the legitimacy of the Corsican government.

But in this timeline, since Corsica has not yet been annexed, it means that Rousseau's constitutional work is still continuing, so it is not surprising that he had correspondence with Pauly a few months ago.

After clarifying this relationship, Lawrence couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly and suddenly had an idea.

Since Rousseau is still working on the constitution of Corsica, and he will soon return to Corsica to reorganize the Constituent Assembly to determine Corsica's constitutional monarchy, it is entirely possible to invite Rousseau to work in Corsica.

"Can he be given the status of a member of the Constituent Assembly? It is most appropriate for him to be the speaker. After all, the speaker's status is high enough and he does not have much real power."

Lawrence looked at Rousseau calmly, and secretly planned in his heart:

"Perhaps it would be good to make him the Minister of Education, but the political symbolism is not strong enough. As expected, the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly is the most suitable."

Lawrence knew that even in this world, Rousseau's thoughts would inevitably influence thousands of revolutionaries. This was just a matter of time.

And if Rousseau can be made a member of the Corsican government, especially at the top levels of the government, then Lawrence can fully claim that the Corsican government is the orthodox successor to Rousseau's ideas in the future.

"In this way, there may be unexpected effects in the great revolution in the future."

Lawrence narrowed his eyes and looked at Mr. Rousseau, who was still confused in front of him, and thought silently.

Here I would like to add a letter written by Matteo Butavco, the then Corsican ambassador to France, when he invited Rousseau to formulate the Corsican constitution:

"Sir, in your Social Contract you refer to our country, Corsica, in the most flattering terms. That praise, coming from your hand with so much sincerity, evokes a strong hope that you must be the help The wisest men in this country who have maintained the liberty for which she shed so many blood. I admit, of course, that the work which I dare to undertake upon you requires profound and special knowledge, and if you condescend to accept it, I shall be able to furnish it to you. and Mr. Pauli will do his best to send you from Corsica all the information you need. This illustrious leader and all the patriots of our country who have benefited from reading your masterpiece share my wish. "