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His quarrel was not with the Supreme Being as such, but with the over-dogmatic Catholicism that inspired him with a sense of awe because of its idolatry and its blind submission to the dogmas: "I had that particular aversion our city entertains for Catholicism, which is represented there as the most monstrous idolatry, and whose clergy are painted in the blackest colors."(Rousseau, 49) Rousseau feels entrapped by the strict code of Catholicism. The witty comparison that he makes between the bells that called him to mass and those that called him to breakfast, i.e. To partake of the pleasures of life, is very telling: "If the bells of the viaticum alarmed me, the chiming for mass or vespers called me to a breakfast, a collation, to the pleasure of regaling on fresh butter, fruits, or milk."(Rousseau, 52) the author feels more comfortable with his own religion, Protestantism, than with Catholicism precisely because as a Protestant he is allowed to know and to investigate that in which he believes, and not to merely submit to it: "Protestants, in general, are better instructed in the principles of their religion than Catholics; the reason is obvious, the doctrine of the former requires discussion, of the latter a blind submission."(Rousseau, 66) Rousseau's tensed relationship with religion appears even more evident when he wants to be converted to Catholicism, thus being directly confronted with what he found to be a humiliating and artificial doctrine: "I even suspected him of having been guilty...
The fact that Rousseau could not let himself be duped by prejudice and falseness emphasizes that he was enticed to think freely, for himself and not to accept the limitations that come with a fixed and artificial doctrine. For the author thus, truth lies in the human soul. It can be said that Rousseau was thus closer to the teachings of the New Testament, which preached love as the main doctrine rather than those of the Old Testament where God is pictured like a fearful and jealous father. He was thus a believer in the human soul and in freedom. His reaction once he 'escapes' conversion edifying: "I had passed two months in absolute confinement; this was new to me; I was now emancipated, and the sentiment I felt most forcibly, was joy at my recovered liberty. After a slavery which had appeared tedious, I was again master of my time and actions, in a great city, abundant in resources..."(Rousseau, 78) He could accept confinement because he is a believer in freedom and the natural possibilities of man, above the unnatural and strict religions.
Works Cited
Rousseau, Jean Jacques. Confessions. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Works Cited
Rousseau, Jean Jacques. Confessions. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
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