Provenance:
From the personal collection of Don Pedro Paterno

ABOUT THE WORK

Rousseau would be a staple in the Filipino ilustrado library — as well as that of Andres Bonifacio. This title was among the books confiscated during a raid of his home by the Spanish secret police at the start of the Philippine Revolution. Written as an autobiography, Las Confesiones on Rosseau (an important political philosopher that influenced the Enlightenment) covers the first fifty-three years of the author’s life. As a distinct genre, the author writes based on his distinct personal experiences and feelings. Often quoted is Rosseau’s opening statement in his Confessions: “I have resolved on an enterprise which has no precedent and which, once complete, will have no imitator. My purpose is to display to my kind a portrait in every way true to nature, and the man I shall portray will be myself.” (Lars Raymund Ubaldo, Ph. D.)