Arrowhead Union High School











Treatises of History
Literature and its Effects on History












A.
P. European History Research Paper
“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” (C.S. Lewis). Literature has always had an enormous impact on history, it changes people’s perspectives and it makes people curious about things unknown. Throughout history there are examples of where literature drastically impacted the way of life. For example, Machiavelli’s The Prince and also Martin Luther’s 95 Theses. However, there are also less famous pieces of literature that still impacted ideology of many people. One piece of literature was Emile, by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and should be considered one of the most influential of its time because it had a detailed description of how man could retain their innate goodness and described what an ideal citizen would consist of. This piece of work consisted of ideas that were further used in the formation of the education system after the French Revolution. One other piece of literature that should be considered influential is the play Socrates, written by Voltaire in the mid 17th Century. This play expresses enormous amounts of satire specifically targeting organized religion and the authority of government. Like Emile, this play also influenced the American Revolution and the French. These two pieces of literature had large parts to play in history, primarily their spark in revolutions. However many books and plays that were influential and popular during this time, there were also many that weren’t as regularly read compared to other pieces of work. One piece of literature that wasn’t read and used as much as it should have been was Utopia by Thomas More. This novel, if taken more seriously, could have aided in the prevention of many intense and horrific events that ransacked Europe during the 16th, 17th and 18th century because the novel describes a society that was governed by reason and addressed many topics that weren’t resolved until the mid 20th century. Each of these three pieces of literature had ideas that could be both considered beneficial and detrimental to a nation based off ones perspective; however, if looked at from the view of the people they all should be regarded as extremely advantageous.

Emile, written by Jean Jacques Rousseau, is a treatise on that summarizes some of his own ideology on the concept of education and the nature of man. This piece of work, indulges in the controversial subject of the relationship between the individual and society. The most prominent relationship between these two subjects in Rousseau’s opinion was the concept of one's ability to preserve their innate goodness in a world full of sorrow and darkness. Furthermore, his concept of education which is represented in this book would be based of a system that teaches one to survive in this cruel, corrupt society. And in his book, the character Emile and his tutor represent two individuals who are taught in a concept that Rousseau thought best. Expanding on educational philosophy, Emile also represents a flawed but adequate design for parenting as well. In general, this novel is considered one of the first complete written pieces regarding educational philosophy and was considered one of the first Bildungsroman, a genre in literature regarding the psychological and moral development of a child to adult throughout the novel, novels in history.

The text of Emile is separated into 5 distinct books. The first three books revolve around the life of the child Emile; the fourth devolves into the exploration and development of adolescence; and the fifth, to outline Emile’s counterpart Sophie and also Emile's domestic and civil life.

In the first part of Emile, Rousseau opens up with the line, “Everything this is good as it leaves the hands of the Author of things, everything degenerates in the hands of man.” (Book 1 of Emile, Rousseau.) This line from the text personifies the ideology that was expressed throughout the First Book of Emile, the philosophy that in order for society to prosper you have to end the contradictions between the two faces of man, instinct and logic. In this treatise, Rousseau attempts to expand on his ideology that man must repress his “dark side”, and the concept that no matter what one does or what atrocities occurred in his past, they can get over it. In Rousseau’s Social Contract there is a line that exemplifies his belief on man and that no matter what they can be good, it just takes time to rehabilitate.”There is no evildoer who could not be made good for something.” (The Social Contract, Rousseau).Expanding off of social philosophy, Rousseau also divulged into educational philosophy in this section of Emile (Book 1) as well. Primarily, he restated many previous beliefs of other educational philosophers, such as Locke’s concept of hardening children’s body to repress the effects of the seasons, the elements, fatigue, starvation and thirst. Also, he expressed his concerns for swaddling and supported the idea of mothers nursing their own infants. In this book Rousseau wrote, “Give nature time to work before you take over her business, lest you interfere with her dealings. You assert that you know the value of time and are afraid to waste it. You fail to perceive that it is a greater waste of time to use it ill than to do nothing, and that a child ill taught is further from virtue than a child who has learnt nothing at all. You are afraid to see him spending his early years doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy, nothing to run and jump all day? He will never be so busy again all his life long.” (Rousseau, Book One of Emile). This quote exemplifies his belief that children in this stage should not learn but experience and live.
Book One of Emile was a very influential piece of literature during this time, primarily for its role in the change of raising an infant. The book contains concepts of raising a child from birth to adolescence and marks some key ideas that a parent must undertake to create a model citizen of a child. Primarily in book one; there is a general belief of freedom is necessary for the child. That in order for the child to succeed in the future, they must have a free childhood where they aren’t burdened by swaddles and other constricting ways of life. This part of the book truly exemplifies the need of freedom and relies on the “dark” side of man at an early age yet slowly drifting apart from this as they develop.
Book Two of Emile expands on Book One’s concept of free will for children. It engulfs the reader in the idea that through experiences the child can solely acquire knowledge and learn freely. This interaction with the world emphasizes the development of the senses. In the novel, Emile is asked by his father when they are out flying kites to estimate the location of the kite, by only looking at the shadow of the kite. (Rousseau, Book Two). By using on prior knowledge, even though Emile was never taught this, he could approximate the location of the kite without knowing how to do it.
Book two, exemplifies the idea that a child should go out and experience the world outside of the home and leave the constricting ties of life indoors. This concept, would then allow the child to open up to influences from education and allow the child to expand their knowledge. This indulgence of outdoor and physical activities was a major change for the people at this time because most children of this era were swaddled and fed from a nursemaid. This new concept of child development allowed parents to let their children explore and divulge in activities that were previously frowned upon during this era. Making this piece of literature a very influential step in the development of a child from childhood to adolescence.
Book Three of Emile revolves around the necessities of a trade skill to be learned during their adolescence. This part of the story orbits around Emile being taught how to learn a trade appropriate to his age and his gender. Which is also suitable to their social class, and by being taught by worthy role models.
This is one of the most important parts of the Emile story because it is centered on the concept of teaching a child a job that will help them in their future career. This is important, especially for the era in which this book was written, because during this time the most powerful and wealthiest people were ones who were extremely skilled in a craft or a trade. Furthermore, this piece of the book also explained that in order for a child to be successful in their future life they must have some sense of what they are doing, and it would be more beneficial if they were skilled instead of adequate in their profession.
Book Four of Emile indulges in the concept of one’s personal sentiment. Because Emile is now in his teenage years, Rousseau believes he is finally capable of creating his own opinion and having complex human emotions and beliefs. At this stage in his development, Emile is finally able to put himself into other peoples shoes and indulge in the civilized and socialized world. Furthermore, Rousseau also believed that before the age of fifteen or sixteen children were not able to understand the complex concepts of religion and the soul. He believed that “It is a lesser evil to be unaware of the divinity than to offend it” (Rousseau, Book Four). Because of this belief that children are incapable of understanding complex ideas of religion is because he believed that children would only be able to recite what they were taught, not believe. But because of Emile becoming of age to understand, he was able to believe his own ideas of religion and interpret it for himself.
This book is one of the most important pieces of the Emile treatise because it is focused on the child’s ability to create their own belief on religion. It focuses on Emile being able to come up with his own belief on what he thinks and what he believes. This piece of the story of Emile is more important than most of the others because it involves the child’s own belief instead of being taught.
In the fifth part of the treatise of Emile Rousseau divulges into the concept of women's education. He believes that women should have a proper education but he believes there is a major difference between the two sexes. “In what they have in common, they are equal. Where they differ, they are not comparable. A perfect woman and a perfect man ought not to resemble each other in mind any more than in looks, and perfection is not susceptible of more or less. In the union of the sexes each contributes equally to the common aim, but not in the same way. From this diversity arises the first assignable difference in the moral relations of the two sexes.” (Rousseau, Book Five). Rousseau wrote that women should be passive and weak and bend to the man's belief. He believed that women were made specifically to please men.
This part of the books for Emile was one of the most controversial pieces of Rousseau’s work because it was a fatal strike to the women's movement and that someone so brilliant such as Rousseau could believe an idea such as this. However, this part of the Emile treatise did expand on the education for women and the ideas that women should be taught with. Primarily, to support and help the men in this world.
In the end, Emile by Rousseau was an outstanding guideline for parenting and educating children during its era. It outlined a guide to keep children in stages that would help them learn best, from experienced based learning to specifically skilled based learning. Furthermore, in Emile it sets up a guideline on how parents should raise their children in stages as well by indulging them in certain activities at an early age and when they become old enough to understand certain topics to indulge in the concept of religion as well. This book explains how one could retain their innate goodness in a world of corruption by taking life in stages. Through proper education and restraint one could learn to keep themselves clear of the cruelty and darkness that surrounded the world during this era. Furthermore, in this book Emile talks about how you should live your life to the fullest and experience as much as you could, he wrote “To live is not to breathe but to act. It is to make use of our organs, our senses, our faculties, of all the parts of ourselves which give us the sentiment of our existence. The man who has lived the most is not he who has counted the most years but he who has most felt life.” (Rousseau, Emile). In each five parts of his treatise of Emile Rousseau writes about all aspects of life and how if they follow this generic and basic guideline they could retain their innate goodness yet experience great things. The French people used all of the concepts from this book as a guideline for their education system after the French Revolution, because they believed it would supply a suitable replacement which would allow children a proper and modern education.

Unlike Emile, the play Socrates, written by Voltaire, was not as direct with its philosophical beliefs. The play revolves around Socrates life and the events before his death during his trial. The play is not direct with its subliminal messages; instead it is necessary to read between the lines of the dialogue. Primarily, the plays messages are about satires specifically targeting government authority and organized religion. The play shows Socrates as an individual charged with accusations from corrupted and conspiring Athenians.

The main reason Socrates should be considered an influential piece of literature is that it questions the authority of government and religion. It brings to question what should the limitations of religion and government be, through subliminal satires throughout the play. In the play, Voltaire wrote “Always beware of turning religion into metaphysics: Morality is its essence.” Which in essence, means that be wary of what you preach because if you start to divulge into too much nonsense and pigheadedness your philosophy will have no reason to it, nothing that anyone can relate to.

Another example from the play of subliminal messaging through the play is from a quote by Socrates saying, “I regard constraint as a crime.” (Voltaire, Socrates Act One). Which, taken in context means very little but through reasoning, it possibly meant that Voltaire was condemning the restrictions placed upon people from religion or government. Which, many people disliked but did not contain the courage to act out against their government. Another example of satire that questions the authority of the church is from the passage in Act One, “I scorn neither the one nor the other. They tell me that Ceres presides over wheat: I intend to believe it. But she doesn’t meddle with my marriage.” (Voltaire, Socrates Act One). This satire questions the church in a humorous manner because it diminishes the power of god and says their power deals solely with what they have control over, in this circumstance, Wheat.
One of the most memorable lines from the play is, “when you propose ridiculous things to believe, too many men will choose to believe nothing at all.” (Voltaire, Socrates Act Three). This line from the book exemplifies the belief of Voltaire that religion should play a part in one’s life, but it is necessary that religion does not try to take part in too many pieces of life. To not offer anything but a generic idea that there is something to believe in.
Socrates by Voltaire should be considered very influential because of the fact that it questions the power of government and religion when no one else had the courage to do so. Throughout the novel there are many exemplary instances where satire was included that questioned the ideas of these two issues.
One book that never got the attention that it was deserved was Utopia, by Thomas More. Utopia is laid out into two sections; Book one, which states most of the problems in European Society while Book two lists all the ways to solve those problems. The book incorporates the idea of a perfect world where there was no social, economic or political problems.
The majority of the book is concerned with social issues such as divorce, euthanasia, religious toleration and the marriage of priests in the Catholic Church. The society in this book thrived off of reason, and reason alone. There was no action without thoroughly thinking it through. Thus, making Utopia a perfect novel that every world leader should read.
The book provides many intuitive suggestions about how one ruler should lead their nation. The book shows the readers how a world of peace and reason could lead to extreme prosperity and utter tranquility among the people. If this book would have been taken more seriously during the time, millions of lives would have been saved throughout history.

For example, if the German political leaders at the beginning of the formation of Germany read this novel and passed it on to future generations they possibly could have ended millions of lives lost by simply interpreting and understanding a book. The book would have taught the German leaders about social equality and that to achieve power politically you have to do it in a peaceful and legal matter. Thus, it possibly could have hindered the history that was to come.

One of the best comparisons to the Utopian society was communism. There was no private ownership and where everything in the nation was shared among the people. And, if the people needed more they could just ask for it and receive. Also, there was free healthcare in Utopia along with euthanasia if requested. These simple rights were milestones during Mores time.

If these liberal concepts were taken more seriously from political leaders starting at Mores time and ending till the current year of 2013, many people around the globe wouldn't have to worry about dying the next day or wouldn't have to worry about where they would get their food. Because, everyone would be equal and life would be good. That’s what the Utopian ideology was, a better life. ‘



“One must always be careful of books," said Tessa, "and what is inside them, for words have the power to change us.” (Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel). Literature throughout history has always had its impact. May it be big or small. There have always been those books that light a small spark, and there are always those books that should have, but never did. Two treatises that lit small sparks were Emile by Jean Jacques Rousseau and Socrates by Voltaire. Both novels had impacts on history, primarily in revolutions. Emile played a role in the French Revolution by creating a guideline for the French people on a way of education. Thus, lighting its own spark in history. While, Socrates, was used as fuel to light a spark in the American and French revolution as well. This was because of its satires revolving around government authority and organized religion. Both of these books, when looked at from a far left their own mark on history. Thus, the book left a slight burn in the history books from their sparks. However, one book which didn’t leave as large of a mark as it should have, was Utopia by Thomas More. The book should have been taken more seriously than it was and been read more worldwide for its liberal ideology such as equal marriage and religious toleration. However, it was not meant to be and the spark from this book was not as great of a flame as it should have been. The people that wrote these books may be long gone, but their work still lingers on in the minds of readers and possible leaders yet to come. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Great Gatsby).