This groundbreaking work by French philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, explores the origins of laws, arts, and sciences in ancient civilizations. Rousseau argues that these advancements were not made through reason and logic, but rather through a natural development of human passions and desires. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.