A horizontal printer's ornament consists of symmetrical floral and leaf motifs flanking a central element.

PREFACE

TO EMILE.

This collection of reflections and observations, without order and almost without sequence, was begun to please a good mother who knows how to think. At first, I had only planned a memoir of a few pages. As my subject carried me away in spite of myself, this memoir became, imperceptibly, a sort of work: too large, no doubt, for what it contains, but too small for the subject it treats. I hesitated for a long time to publish it, and while working on it, it often made me feel that having written a few pamphlets is not enough to know how to compose a book. After vain efforts to do better, I believe I must present it as it is, judging that it is important to turn public attention in this direction.