Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), Swiss-French philosopher and author. Rousseau was also a botanist, political theorist and musician. At the age of 13 he took up an apprenticeship in engraving. Three years later he ran away and became secretary to a wealthy woman. In 1742 he moved to Paris where he began his distinguished career as a philosophical writer. Rousseau argued the moral superiority of the primitive state over the civilised state. His works, which included 'On The Social Contract' (1762, held in hand), supported the will of the masses over the divine right of Kings. This anticipated the French Revolution. He studied botany as a leisure pursuit.