Emile - Tapa blanda

Emile, or On Education, examines the nature of education and of man, instructing the reader on how to raise a child to live a harmonious, philosophically rich life.

Written in an order of the child's upbringing, each part of the text discusses how best to teach a young person values which they can take onwards to their ultimate benefit. The titular 'Emile' is the name of child who undergoes the recommended development and teaching.

In praising the ideas of earlier thinkers, Rousseau compliments physical education as well as the honing of intellect, and emphasised that the child must not learn simply from books, but also from venturing out and experiencing the tangible world and reality before them.

One portion of the text is notable for what were then considered stark criticisms of religion and philosophy. As a result, Emile was banned in France and elsewhere at the time of publication. The famously derisive Voltaire condemned most of the book, but praised the portion which resulted in its banning - Profession of Faith of the Savoyard Vicar.

The final book in the series discusses the education of Sophie, who is Emile's betrothed. At a time when girls and women were generally denied a formal education, Rousseau's relatively short discussion - which praises the status quo and declares that women must be 'passive and weak' provoked a strong condemnatory reaction among female members of the European intelligentsia.