The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1906-10-23
ROUSSEAU MALIGNED
Woman Claims She Has Dis
covered His YindieatiOn.
DIDERoT AND GRIMM IN PLOT
1Irs. Frederick Macdonald Presents
Evidence 10 show That They
Brought About Complete Change
in Madam d'Epinay's Original
story OF ROusseau-ShOws Photo.

Correspondents Of The Washington Herald.
Paris, Oct. 13-Surprising discoveries
recently made by an English author, Nv
ing in Paris. indicate that Jean Jacques
Rousseau's shocking reputation was the
result of a conspiracy, and that the IA
NOUS philosopher was a much more con-
sistent and respectable person than he
has had credit for. These interesting dis
coveries have been made by Mrs. Fred
erika Macdonald, who has long been rec
ognized as an authority on the France Of
VoItaire and Rousseau, and is also the
author Of THE Had of the East" and
The Flower of the Spirit"
In his own day the voice &C public opin-
ion described Jean Jacques Rousseau as
"the virtuous citizen of Geneva In
the generation after his own, the best
minds-among these, such distinguished
critics as Mirabeau, the statesman OF
genius. as Madame de Stael, the accom-
plihed woman Of the world. as well as of
letters; as Emanuel Kant. the critical
philosopher. and as Schiller, the ideal
pOet-described the Confessions as
masterpiece of sincerity and courage, ~
and affirmed that "Rousseau's virJuous
character lent authority to his writings
View of Modern Critics.
To-day. as everyone knows. modern cri-
tics take the opposite view. The author
of the Confessions because he aC-
cuses his self-styled old friend. Grimm
and Diderot of a plot to create for him
a false reputation. is held to be proved by
the extravaganza of this assertion, either
a base caIuminator or a suspicious ma
MAC. On the other hand, all the charges
brought against Rousseau Of hypocrisy
and imposture are supposed 10 be proved
true by the force of the plausible argu-
ment urged originally by Diderot-"Too
many honest men would be in the wrong
if Jean Jacques were right"
Mrs. Macdonald establishes that the
starting point Of this change and the
turning of the tide of public favor against
Rousseau were the publication IN 1872 and
1915 of two works. GTimm's Secret Cor
respOndence, and the pOSthumOuS book
incorrectly described as Nine. d 'Epinay's
Memoirs The last book especially,
given by its publishers as the authentic
journal of the ''benefactress" who built
the ungratefUl Jean Jacques his hermi-
tage produced a huge impression on
literary critics, who. fascinated by Nine.
d Epinay's vivid pictures of eighteenth
century society. took il for granted that
all her portraits Of contemporaries were
painted from the life
Now the portrait of Rousseau as il ap-
pears IN Nine. q Epinay's book has all the
odious features of the hypocritc and i'm
poster painted elsewhere by Diderot and
Grimm. The agreement between these
different pictures proves then either that
Rousseau was a hypocrite. on else that
these different artists must have con-
spired together 10 lend this abominable
appearance 10 an innocent man. But the
supposition of amy such conspiracy is re-
Jected by these literary critics as too eX-
traVagant TO deserve serious cOnsidera-
ton Jean Jacques remains the repuIsive
Parsonage Of Nine. d Epinay's portrait.
Mrs. MacdOnuId's Discoveries.
Mrs Macdonald does not deny that this
conclusion has many arguments in its IA
vor, but she has made il her task to prove
that il is contradicted by the evidence Of
historical facts In the Paris archives
and in the Arsenal Library she has dis
covered a collection of documents that.
pieced together. reconsttute the original
manuscript of the work published under
the title of Nine d'Epinav's Memoirs.
This manuscript reveals that the whole
story of Rene Rousseau, as Nine
d'Epinay first related it, has been sup
pressed and replaced by an mterpeHated
history. and that this altered history has
been arranged in accordance with q list
of notes drawn up by Grimm and Diderot.
which also accompanies the manuscript.
These statements Mrs. Macdonald sub
stimulates by photographs which repro
duce certain passages Of the manuscript
Amongst these photographs is one Civ
ing note where the author is told TO
re-write her story OF Rene from the
beginning.
The sensational history of this extraor-
binary fraud is not only important in
connection with its rectification Of the
false judgment passed upon Rousseau by
distinguished modern critics, but It also
proves how dangerous are conclusions in
connection with historical facts based
upon arguments and assumptions instead
Of upon evidence